Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 27

अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः

Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code

Devanagari script

अन्तर्गतमभिप्रायं नूनं नेच्छसि लज्जया । विवेक्तुं प्राप्तिशैथिल्यात्‌ तेनासि हरिण: कृश:

Transliteration

antargatam abhiprāyaṃ nūnaṃ necchasi lajjayā | vivektuṃ prāpti-śaithilyāt tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ |

Translation

Tunay nga, dahil sa hiya, ayaw mong ilantad ang layuning nakatago sa iyong puso. Sapagkat nag-aalinlangan kang makamtan ang ninanais mo, lumuwag ang iyong paninindigan; kaya ikaw ay unti-unting nanghihina—gaya ng usa—pumapayat dahil sa balisang pag-iisip.

Word by Word

• {'antargatam': 'gone within

• inward, hidden', 'abhiprāyam': 'intention, inner purpose, thought', 'nūnam': 'surely, indeed', 'na icchasi (necchasi)': 'you do not wish', 'lajjayā': 'out of shame/modesty', 'vivektum': 'to discern, to explain clearly, to articulate', 'prāpti': 'attainment, obtaining', 'śaithilyāt': 'from slackness, from loosening/weakening', 'tena': 'therefore, for that reason', 'asi': 'you are', 'hariṇaḥ': 'a deer (metaphor for timidity and frailty)', 'kṛśaḥ': 'thin, emaciated'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (speaker)
• हरिण (deer, as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how unspoken desire combined with doubt about success weakens determination; this inner conflict manifests as visible distress. Ethically, it points to the need for clarity of intention and steadiness of resolve rather than being consumed by anxious hesitation.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa addresses someone who is visibly wasting away. He infers that the person is hiding an inner wish out of modesty and, because of uncertainty about attaining the desired goal, has become mentally agitated and physically emaciated—likened to a timid deer.