Shloka 7

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving

Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मभूतश्चरन्‌ विप्र: कृष्णद्वैपायन: पुरा । ददर्श कीटं धावन्तं शीघ्रं शकटवर्त्मनि

Transliteration

brahmabhūtaś caran vipraḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaḥ purā | dadarśa kīṭaṃ dhāvantaṃ śīghraṃ śakaṭavartmani ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Thuở xưa, vị Bà-la-môn Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), đi đây đó trong trạng thái hợp nhất với Phạm, đã thấy một côn trùng nhỏ chạy rất nhanh dọc theo vệt bánh xe.”

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मभूतः: having become Brahman; Brahman-like
• ब्रह्मभूतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मभूत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चरन्: walking; moving about
• चरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विप्रः: brahmin; sage
• विप्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णद्वैपायनः: Krishna-Dvaipayana (Vyasa)
• कृष्णद्वैपायनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णद्वैपायन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुरा: formerly; once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• ददर्श: saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• कीटम्: an insect; worm
• कीटम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीट
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• धावन्तम्: running
• धावन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र

• शकटवर्त्मनि: on the cart-track; in the wagon-road
• शकटवर्त्मनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकटवर्त्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa)
• kīṭa (insect)
• śakaṭavartman (cart-track/road)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse initiates an ethical lesson grounded in compassion and non-injury: a realized sage notices even a tiny creature’s urgent effort to preserve its life, suggesting that dharma includes attentiveness to and protection of vulnerable beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma recounts an old episode: Vyāsa, while traveling, observes an insect running quickly along a cart’s track. This observation serves as the opening image for a moral exemplum that follows.