Shloka 4

अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः

Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind

Devanagari script

साध्या ऊचु. शकुने वयं सम देवा वै साध्यास्त्वामनुयुड्क्ष्महे । पृच्छामस्त्वां मोक्षधर्म भवांश्व॒ किल मोक्षवित्‌

Transliteration

sādhyā ūcuḥ—śakune vayaṃ sama-devā vai sādhyās tvām anuyokṣmahe | pṛcchāmas tvāṃ mokṣa-dharmaṃ bhavāṃś ca kila mokṣa-vit ||

Translation

سادھیوں نے کہا— اے شکُنی (اے ہنس)! ہم سادھیہ دیوتا ہیں؛ ہم آپ سے سوال کرنا چاہتے ہیں۔ ہم موکش دھرم کے بارے میں پوچھتے ہیں، کیونکہ آپ موکش کے تَتّو کے جاننے والے ہیں— یہ بات ہر جگہ مشہور ہے۔

Word by Word

• {'sādhyāḥ': 'the Sādhya gods (a class of deities)', 'ūcuḥ': 'said (perfect tense, 3rd person plural)', 'śakune': 'O Śakuni

• vocative (here used as an epithet for the swan/haṃsa in the narrative)', 'vayam': 'we', 'sama-devāḥ': 'divine beings

• equal among the gods (contextual epithet emphasizing their deva-status)', 'vai': 'indeed, surely (emphatic particle)', 'tvām': 'you', 'anuyokṣmahe': 'we wish to question / we will ask (desiderative/future sense in context)', 'pṛcchāmaḥ': 'we ask', 'mokṣa-dharma': 'the doctrine/duty/path concerning liberation', 'bhavān': 'your honor

• you (respectful singular)', 'kila': 'it is said

• indeed (reportive/emphatic particle)', 'mokṣa-vit': 'knower of liberation

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sādhyas
• Śakuni (as epithet for Haṃsa/Swan)
• Mokṣa-dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse establishes the authority of the teacher and the legitimacy of inquiry: even divine beings approach a reputed knower to learn mokṣa-dharma, implying that liberation is grounded in right understanding transmitted through questioning and instruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group of deities called the Sādhyas address the figure called Śakuni (here an epithet associated with the haṃsa/swan) and request instruction on mokṣa-dharma, citing his widespread reputation as a knower of liberation.