Shloka 40

Devanagari script

कच्चिद्‌ विनयसम्पन्न: कुलपुत्रो बहुश्रुतः । अनसूयुरनुप्रष्टा सत्कृतस्ते पुरोहित:,क्या तुम्हारे पुरोहित विनयशील, कुलीन, बहुज्ञ, विद्वान, दोषदृष्टिसे रहित तथा शास्त्रचर्चामें कुशल हैं? क्या तुम उनका पूर्ण सत्कार करते हो?

Transliteration

kaccid vinayasampannaḥ kulaputro bahuśrutaḥ | anasūyur anupraṣṭā satkṛtas te purohitaḥ ||

Translation

Nārada hỏi: “Vị purohita của ngài có được rèn luyện trong đức khiêm cung và kỷ luật, xuất thân dòng dõi tốt, học rộng biết nhiều chăng? Người ấy có tránh thói soi lỗi, và có khả năng tra vấn, nghị luận đúng đắn trong việc học hỏi thánh điển chăng? Và ngài có tôn kính người ấy bằng sự kính trọng xứng đáng chăng?”

Word by Word

कच्चित्whether? (I hope/indeed?)

विनयसम्पन्नःendowed with humility/discipline

कुलपुत्रःa well-born man (son of a good family)

बहुश्रुतःwell-learned, much-heard (erudite)

अनसूयुःfree from envy/carping

अनुप्रष्टाone who inquires appropriately (questioner)

सत्कृतःhonoured, well-treated

तेof you/your

पुरोहितःhouse-priest, chaplain

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Narada

purohita (royal chaplain/priest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s dharma is strengthened by keeping a learned, humble, non-censorious purohita and by honoring him. Ethical governance requires disciplined scholarship, constructive inquiry, and respect for principled counsel.

What is happening in the narrative?

Narada, in a sequence of diagnostic questions about good rule and household order, asks whether the king maintains a qualified royal priest-adviser and treats him with proper honor—implying that neglect of such guidance harms dharma and statecraft.