Shloka 4

Adhyāya 39 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on attachment (saṅga) and relational restraint

Devanagari script

शम्बर उवाच नासूयामि यदा वित्रान्‌ ब्राह्ममेव च मे मतम्‌ । शास्त्राणि वदतो विप्रान्‌ सम्मन्यामि यथासुखम्‌

Transliteration

śambara uvāca | nāsūyāmi yadā viprān brāhmam eva ca me matam | śāstrāṇi vadato viprān samman yāmi yathāsukham |

Translation

Sumagot si Shambara: “Hindi ako kailanman nagtataglay ng masamang loob o paghahanap ng mali laban sa mga Brahmana. Ang anumang ‘brahmaniko’—yaong umaayon sa banal na kaalaman at wastong asal—ay itinuturing kong sariling paninindigan. At iginagalang ko ang mga pantas na Brahmanang nagpapaliwanag ng śāstra, at nagsisikap, ayon sa aking makakaya, na bigyan sila ng ginhawa at tulong.”

Word by Word

• {'śambara': 'Śambara (name of an asura/demon figure)', 'uvāca': 'said', 'na': 'not', 'asūyāmi (asūyā)': 'I envy

• I find fault (maliciously)', 'yadā': 'ever/when', 'viprān': 'brāhmaṇas

• learned priests/sages', 'brāhmam': 'that which is brāhmaṇa

• pertaining to Brahmanical dharma', 'eva': 'indeed

• alone', 'ca': 'and', 'me': 'my', 'matam': 'view

• conviction', 'śāstrāṇi': 'scriptures

• authoritative treatises', 'vadato': 'of those who speak/teach (genitive plural participle)', 'samman yāmi (sammanyāmi)': 'I honor

• I hold in high esteem', 'yathā-sukham': 'according to ability/means

Speaker

शम्बर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śambara
• vipra (brāhmaṇas)
• śāstra (scriptural teachings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches reverence toward learned brāhmaṇas and the authority of śāstra: one should avoid fault-finding and instead honor those who teach sacred knowledge, supporting them according to one’s capacity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śambara speaks in self-description, declaring his attitude and conduct: he does not disparage brāhmaṇas, aligns his own view with Brahmanical/śāstric principles, and shows practical respect by honoring and assisting scriptural teachers.