Shloka 7

अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः

Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code

Devanagari script

रक्षस्तु वाचं सम्पूज्य प्रश्न॑ पप्रच्छ तं द्विजम्‌ मोक्ष्यसे ब्रूहि मे प्रश्न केनास्मि हरिण: कृश:

Transliteration

rakṣas tu vācaṃ sampūjya praśnaṃ papraccha taṃ dvijam | mokṣyase brūhi me praśnaṃ kenāsmi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ pāṇḍuś ca ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: Con rākṣasa ấy, sau khi kính cẩn tôn vinh những lời hiền hòa của vị Bà-la-môn, liền nêu câu hỏi: “Nếu ông đáp được câu hỏi của ta, ta sẽ thả ông. Hãy nói cho ta biết—do nguyên nhân nào mà ta trở nên gầy mòn đến thế, và vì sao ta lại hóa ra tái nhợt, trắng bệch?”

Word by Word

• {'rakṣas': 'a rākṣasa

• a man-eating demon/ogre', 'tu': 'but

• then', 'vācam': 'speech

• words', 'sampūjya': 'having honored

• having shown respect', 'praśnam': 'a question', 'papraccha': 'asked (perfect of √prach)', 'tam': 'him', 'dvijam': 'a twice-born

• brāhmaṇa (lit. ‘twice-born’)', 'mokṣyase': 'you will be released

• you will be set free', 'brūhi': 'tell

• speak (imperative of √brū)', 'me': 'to me

• my', 'kena': 'by what? by which cause/instrument?', 'asmi': 'I am', 'hariṇaḥ': 'pale/whitish

• also ‘deer-like’ depending on context (here: pallor)', 'kṛśaḥ': 'thin

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rākṣasa
• dvija (brāhmaṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a violent being can momentarily respond to dharmic speech: respectful, calm words can create space for inquiry and moral reflection. The verse frames liberation (mokṣa here as ‘release’) as contingent on truthful instruction and understanding the cause of one’s suffering/decline.

What is happening in the narrative?

A rākṣasa, impressed by the brāhmaṇa’s peaceful words, agrees to spare him if he answers a question. The rākṣasa asks why he has become extremely weak and pale, setting up a didactic exchange about causes (often ethical/karmic) behind such a condition.