Shloka 26

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)

Devanagari script

यत्‌ ते वने5स्मिन्‌ नृपते दृष्टं दिव्यं निदर्शनम्‌

Transliteration

yat te vane 'smin nṛpate dṛṣṭaṃ divyaṃ nidarśanam | nareśvara rājan asmin vane tvaṃ yo divyo dṛśyo dṛṣṭavān sa svargasyaikā jhāṅkā āsīt | nṛpaśreṣṭha bhūpāla tvam ātmanaḥ patnyā saha asminn eva śarīreṇa kiñcit kālaṃ svargīya-sukham anubhūtavān asi ||

Translation

Cyavana nói: “Hỡi đức vua, cảnh tượng kỳ diệu, thần linh mà ngươi đã thấy trong khu rừng này chỉ là một thoáng nhìn của cõi trời. Hỡi bậc chúa tể loài người, bậc minh quân—ngươi cùng hoàng hậu đã, ngay trong thân xác này, nếm trải lạc thú thiên giới trong chốc lát. Hãy hiểu đó như một dấu hiệu: quả báo công đức có thể được cảm nhận, nhưng sẽ chóng qua nếu không đặt nền trên dharma.”

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (thing)
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• ते: to you/your
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: —, Dative/Genitive, Singular

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

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

• दृष्टम्: seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• दिव्यम्: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• निदर्शनम्: vision/sight, manifestation
• निदर्शनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निदर्शन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• नरेश्वर: O lord of men
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

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

Speaker

च्यवन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Cyavana (च्यवन)
• King (नृपति/नरेश्वर/राजन्)
• Queen (पत्नी/रानी)
• Forest (वन)
• Heaven (स्वर्ग)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that extraordinary pleasures and visions—like a glimpse of heaven—can arise as fruits of merit, but they are temporary. A ruler should not cling to such experiences; instead, he should ground his life in dharma, which alone gives lasting welfare beyond momentary delight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sage Cyavana addresses a king who has witnessed a divine spectacle in a forest. Cyavana explains that what the king saw was a preview of heaven, and that the king, along with his queen, briefly experienced heavenly happiness while still embodied.