Shloka 1

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 3 — Sātyaki on Inner Disposition, Legitimacy, and Coercive Readiness

Devanagari script

अपन बछ। है २ >> तृतीयो<ध्याय: सात्यकिके वीरोचित उद्गार सात्यकिर॒ुवाच यादृश: पुरुषस्यात्मा तादृशं सम्प्रभाषते । यथारूपो<न्तरात्मा ते तथारूप॑ प्रभाषसे

Transliteration

sātyakir uvāca | yādṛśaḥ puruṣasyātmā tādṛśaṃ samprabhāṣate | yathārūpo 'ntarātmā te tathārūpaṃ prabhāṣase |

Translation

Sātyaki nói: “Nội tâm của con người thế nào thì lời nói cũng thế ấy. Tâm ý bên trong mang hình dạng ra sao, ngôn từ liền theo hình dạng đó mà phát ra. Vì vậy, lời của ngài phản chiếu đúng y như bản tính và khuynh hướng trong lòng ngài.”

Word by Word

• {'yādṛśaḥ': 'of what kind

• as is', 'puruṣasya': 'of a person, of a man', 'ātmā': 'self

• here: inner disposition/heart', 'tādṛśam': 'of that kind

• corresponding to it', 'samprabhāṣate': 'speaks forth

• expresses (oneself) clearly', 'yathārūpaḥ': 'having such a form/nature

• as is the character', 'antarātmā': 'inner self

• inward mind', 'te': 'your', 'tathārūpam': 'just so

• in the same manner/nature', 'prabhāṣase': 'you speak

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sātyaki
• Balarāma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Speech is an outward sign of the inner self: a person’s words naturally reveal the quality of their mind and character, so ethical self-cultivation must begin inwardly.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s lead-up to war, Sātyaki addresses Balarāma, remarking that Balarāma’s statements are consistent with (and therefore disclose) his inner disposition.