Shloka 51

उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel

Devanagari script

सव्रीड वै भवति हि मनो मे हसता त्वया । कामया शापितो राजन्‌ नान्यथा वक्तुमहसि

Transliteration

savrīḍa vai bhavati hi mano me hasatā tvayā | kāmayā śāpito rājan nānyathā vaktum arhasi ||

Translation

“Khi ngài cười, lòng tôi như hổ thẹn và tự thẹn mình. Tâu Đại vương, tôi xin đặt ngài dưới lời thề nghiêm trọng mà hỏi—xin hãy nói đúng sự thật như điều ngài thực muốn nói; đừng lảng tránh tôi bằng lời khác để đánh lừa hay xoa dịu.”

Word by Word

• सव्रीडः: ashamed, bashful
• सव्रीडः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सव्रीड
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• भवति: becomes/is
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• हि: for, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• मे: my/of me
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• हसता: by (you) laughing
• हसता: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: हस्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Instrumental, Singular

• कामया: by Kāmayā (name)
• कामया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामया
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• शापितः: cursed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शापित
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अन्यथा: otherwise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यथा

• वक्तुम्: to speak
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive)

• अर्हसि: you ought/are fit
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

पुरोहित उवाच

Characters & Entities

• पुरोहित (the priest)
• राजन् (the king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses satya (truthfulness) and straightforward speech: when questioned under solemn adjuration, one should not evade or mislead with alternative words, especially in matters of counsel between priest and king.

What is happening in the narrative?

The priest addresses the king, saying the king’s laughter makes him feel embarrassed; he then formally presses the king to answer truthfully and not deflect the question with evasive speech.