Shloka 34

अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्

Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas

Devanagari script

तेनैषा प्रथिता ब्रह्म॒न्‌ मर्यादा लोकभाविनी । दैवं पित्रयं च कर्तव्यमिति तस्यानुशासनम्‌

Transliteration

tenaiṣā prathitā brahman maryādā lokabhāvinī | daivaṁ pitryaṁ ca kartavyam iti tasyānuśāsanam ||

Translation

Vì thế, hỡi Bà-la-môn, ranh giới của chính hạnh—điều đã vang danh, nâng đỡ trật tự của thế gian—được thiết lập như sau: các nghi lễ dâng lên chư thiên và các nghi lễ dành cho tổ tiên (pitṛ) đều phải được cử hành. Đó chính là lời huấn lệnh của Ngài.

Word by Word

• तेन: by that; thereby
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रथिता: became renowned/established
• प्रथिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-था (धातु) → प्रथित (कृदन्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahmin
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• मर्यादा: boundary; rule; established norm
• मर्यादा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्यादा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• लोकभाविनी: promoting the welfare of the world
• लोकभाविनी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोक-भाविनी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• दैवम्: duty to the gods; divine rite
• दैवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैव
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• पित्र्यम्: duty to the ancestors; ancestral rite
• पित्र्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: पित्र्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• कर्तव्यम्: is to be done; must be performed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कर्तव्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus; so (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• तस्य: of him; his
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अनुशासनम्: instruction; injunction; command
• अनुशासनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनु-शास (धातु) → अनुशासन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Brahman (addressee)
• Devas (gods)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that maintaining worldly order (maryādā) depends on fulfilling obligatory duties—specifically, performing rites owed to the gods (daiva) and to the ancestors (pitrya).

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada, addressing a Brahmin interlocutor, summarizes an authoritative injunction that established a recognized norm of conduct: one must carry out both divine and ancestral obligations.