Shloka 4

नागैः सह ब्राह्मणस्य अतिथिधर्म-व्रतसंवादः | The Brahmin’s Vow and the Nāgas’ Hospitality Appeal

Devanagari script

तपो हि तप्यतस्तस्य यत्‌ स्थानं परमात्मन: । न तत्‌ सम्प्राप्तुते कश्चिदृते हयावां द्विजोत्तम,द्विजोत्तम! तपस्यामें लगे हुए उन परमात्माका जो स्थान है, वहाँ हम दोनोंके सिवा दूसरा कोई नहीं पहुँच सकता

Transliteration

tapo hi tapyatas tasya yat sthānaṃ paramātmanaḥ | na tat samprāptute kaścid ṛte hayāvāṃ dvijottama, dvijottama ||

Translation

اے دْوِجوتّم! جو شخص تپسیا میں رَت ہے، پرماتما کا جو اعلیٰ مقام ہے، وہاں ہمارے دونوں کے سوا کوئی نہیں پہنچ سکتا۔

Word by Word

तपःausterity, penance

हिindeed, for

तप्यतःof (him) who is performing austerity

तस्यof him

यत्which

स्थानम्abode, place, state

परमात्मनःof the Supreme Self

नnot

तत्that (place/state)

सम्प्राप्तुंto attain, to reach

इतेis able / goes (i.e., can reach)

कश्चित्anyone, someone

ऋतेexcept, without

हयावाम्the two Hayas (we two, named Haya)

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born (brahmin)

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Paramātman

dvijottama (addressed brāhmaṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts the exclusivity and rarity of the highest spiritual attainment: the ‘abode/state of the Paramātman’ is reached only through genuine tapas (disciplined austerity), and even then it is accessible to very few.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a brāhmaṇa (dvijottama), emphasizing that the supreme station attained by an ascetic is not reachable by ordinary beings; he claims that only ‘we two’ can reach it, underscoring the exceptional nature of that realization.