Shloka 8

अग्निनाम-वंश-निरूपणम् | Agni-Names and Lineage Enumeration

Devanagari script

स्वधर्म इति कृत्वा तु न त्यजामि द्विजोत्तम । पुरा कृतमिति ज्ञात्वा जीवाम्येतेन कर्मणा,“विप्रवर! मैं अपना स्वधर्म समझकर यह धंधा नहीं छोड़ रहा हूँ। पहलेसे मेरे पूर्वज यही करते आये हैं, ऐसा समझकर मैं इसी कर्मसे जीवन-निर्वाह करता हूँ

Transliteration

svadharma iti kṛtvā tu na tyajāmi dvijottama | purā kṛtam iti jñātvā jīvāmy etena karmaṇā ||

Translation

“Hỡi bậc tối thượng trong hàng brāhmaṇa, ta không từ bỏ nghề này, vì xem đó là svadharma của mình. Biết rằng đó là tập tục xưa—do người trước đã làm từ thuở ban đầu—ta nuôi sống bằng chính công việc ấy.”

Word by Word

स्वधर्मःone's own duty

इतिthus (quotative)

कृत्वाhaving done / having considered

तुbut / indeed

नnot

त्यजामिI abandon / give up

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born (Brahmin)

पुराformerly / earlier

कृतम्done (in the past)

इतिthus (quotative)

ज्ञात्वाhaving known / understanding

जीवामिI live / sustain myself

एतेनby this

कर्मणाby (this) work/occupation

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

dvijottama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames livelihood as an ethical question: the speaker justifies continuing an occupation by appealing to svadharma (one’s proper duty) and inherited tradition, emphasizing continuity of customary work as a basis for sustaining life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a Brahmin interlocutor and explains why he does not give up a particular ‘trade/occupation’: he regards it as his own duty and as an ancestral practice, and therefore continues it as his means of living.