Shloka 72

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

Devanagari script

उपदेशो न कर्तव्य: कदाचिदपि कस्यचित्‌ | उपदेशाद्धि तत्‌ पापं ब्राह्मण: समवाप्नुयात्‌,ब्राह्मणको चाहिये कि वह कभी किसीको उपदेश न करे; क्योंकि उपदेश करनेसे वह शिष्यके पापको स्वयं ग्रहण करता है

Transliteration

upadeśo na kartavyaḥ kadācid api kasyacit | upadeśād dhi tat pāpaṃ brāhmaṇaḥ samavāpnuyāt |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Một Bà-la-môn chớ bao giờ tùy tiện ban lời giáo huấn cho bất kỳ ai, vào bất kỳ lúc nào. Bởi khi trao dạy như thế, người ấy bị nói là mắc lấy tội ấy—tự mang trên mình lỗi lầm của kẻ học trò.

Word by Word

• उपदेशः: instruction/advice
• उपदेशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपदेश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• कर्तव्यः: to be done/should be done
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Gerundive (तव्यत्), passive obligation

• कदाचित्: ever/at any time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित्

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• कस्यचित्: of anyone
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular, indefinite: 'of anyone'

• उपदेशात्: from/through instruction (i.e., by giving instruction)
• उपदेशात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपदेश
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

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

• तत्: that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• पापम्: sin/evil
• पापम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समवाप्नुयात्: would obtain/incur
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-अव-आप्
• Form: Potential/Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Brāhmaṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Instruction is not morally neutral: a teacher must exercise discernment about whom to teach and under what conditions, because improper teaching can make the teacher complicit in, or bearer of, the disciple’s wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s discourse on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he lays down a restrictive rule about giving upadeśa, warning that a Brāhmaṇa who teaches indiscriminately may incur pāpa connected with the recipient.