Shloka 17

अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing

Devanagari script

न भयाजन्न च कार्पण्यान्न लोभात्‌ त्वामुपाह्नये । तां मे दैवीं गिरं सत्यां शृणु त्वं ब्राह्मणै:ः सह

Transliteration

na bhayāj na ca kārpaṇyān na lobhāt tvām upāhvaye | tāṁ me daivīṁ giraṁ satyāṁ śṛṇu tvaṁ brāhmaṇaiḥ saha, rājan |

Translation

O hari! Hindi kita tinatawag dahil sa takot, ni dahil sa kahinaan, ni dahil sa kasakiman. Kasama ng mga Brahmana na ito, pakinggan mong mabuti ang aking tapat na pananalita—pananalitang kasingbigat at kasing-utos ng isang banal na pahayag.

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• bhayāt: from fear / out of fear
• bhayāt: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya
• Form: neuter, ablative, singular

• na: nor
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• cārpaṇyāt: from wretchedness / from meanness
• cārpaṇyāt: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārpaṇya
• Form: neuter, ablative, singular

• na: nor
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• lobhāt: from greed / out of greed
• lobhāt: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: lobha
• Form: masculine, ablative, singular

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tvad
• Form: accusative, singular

• upāhvaye: I call / I summon
• upāhvaye: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: upāhve (upa-√hve/√hvā)
• Form: present indicative, 1st, singular, active

• tām: that (f.)
• tām: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• me: my / of me
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad
• Form: genitive, singular

• daivīm: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daivī
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• giram: speech / utterance
• giram: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: gir
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• satyām: true
• Type: Adjective
• Root: satya
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• śṛṇu: hear / listen
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru
• Form: imperative, 2nd, singular, active

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tvad
• Form: nominative, singular

• brāhmaṇaiḥ: with the Brahmins
• brāhmaṇaiḥ: Sahakāraka
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• saha: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• rājan (the king, unnamed in this verse)
• brāhmaṇāḥ (Brahmins)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The speaker establishes ethical credibility: counsel should not be motivated by fear, weakness, or greed. True instruction to a ruler must be grounded in satya (truth) and delivered with the gravity of dharmic, almost ‘divine’ authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka addresses a king and urges him—along with assembled Brahmins—to listen carefully. He prefaces his forthcoming statement by clarifying that he is not calling the king for self-interested reasons, but to speak a truthful, weighty message.