Shloka 14

Devanagari script

& ॥ | [5 है £ | 80५, 204८ ॥/.%% (जज 00॥7₹ 7 ॥:20॥067//॥ 4 , है. ब् हि: 006५2 | ४: ३< न हानन्तं सुखं कक्षित्‌ प्राप्नोति पुरुषर्षभ । प्रज्ञावांस्त्वेव पुरुष: संयुक्त: परया घधिया

Transliteration

na hānantaṃ sukhaṃ kaścit prāpnoti puruṣarṣabha | prajñāvāṃs tveva puruṣaḥ saṃyuktaḥ parayā dhiyā ||

Translation

Hỡi bậc trượng phu giữa loài người, không ai đạt được hạnh phúc trọn vẹn, không gián đoạn. Trái lại, chính người trí—được ban cho sự phân biệt tối thượng—mới giữ được tâm thế ngay thẳng, điềm tĩnh và vững vàng giữa những đổi thay của thời vận.

Word by Word

nanot

hānantamone who does not strike/kill (non-injuring)

sukhamhappiness

kaścitsomeone/anyone

prāpnotiattains

puruṣarṣabhaO bull among men

prajñāvānwise

tubut/indeed

evaonly/indeed

puruṣaḥa man/person

saṃyuktaḥendowed/connected

parayāwith supreme

dhiyāunderstanding/intellect

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

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?

Lasting, uninterrupted happiness is not attainable in ordinary human life; therefore one should cultivate prajñā (clear discernment). The wise person, guided by higher understanding, remains steady and ethically grounded despite inevitable fluctuations of pleasure and pain.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, delivers a reflective instruction addressed to a 'best of men,' emphasizing a general truth about the instability of worldly happiness and praising the composed wisdom of one who is endowed with supreme intellect.