Shloka 4

Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra

Devanagari script

एवमभ्यागतस्थेह कपोतस्या भयार्थिन: । अप्रदाने परं धर्म कथं श्येन न पश्यसि

Transliteration

evam abhyāgatastheha kapotasyā bhayārthinaḥ | apradāne paraṃ dharmaḥ kathaṃ śyena na paśyasi ||

Translation

بادشاہ نے کہا: “یہ کبوتر خوف زدہ ہو کر یہاں پناہ لینے آیا ہے؛ ایسے پناہ گزیں کو نہ سونپنا ہی اعلیٰ ترین دھرم ہے۔ اے باز! تم اسے کیسے نہیں دیکھتے؟”

Word by Word

• {'evam': 'thus, in this manner', 'abhyāgata': 'one who has come near

• a suppliant/guest seeking shelter', 'stha (stheha)': "standing/remaining

• here in the sense of 'having come and stayed (for refuge)'", 'iha': 'here', 'kapota': 'pigeon, dove', 'bhaya': 'fear', 'arthin': 'one who seeks, a petitioner

• here: seeking safety from fear', 'apradāna': 'non-giving, not handing over (to another)', 'parama': 'supreme, highest', 'dharma': 'righteous duty

• right conduct', 'katham': 'how?', 'śyena': 'hawk (also used as a raptor in general)', 'na': 'not', 'paśyasi': 'you see, you perceive'}

Speaker

श्येन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• śyena (hawk)
• kapota (pigeon)
• rājā (the king, i.e., the protector/host in the Śibi-type refuge narrative)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that the highest dharma for a protector (especially a king) is to grant safety to one who seeks refuge and not surrender the suppliant to a pursuer, even when pressured by competing claims.

What is happening in the narrative?

A hawk demands a pigeon as prey, but the king refuses because the frightened pigeon has come to him for protection; the king argues that refusing to hand over a refuge-seeker is supreme righteousness.