Shloka 4

Sūrya-stava: Dhaumya’s Counsel and the Aṣṭaśata-nāma of Sūrya

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच मुहूर्तमिव स ध्यात्वा धर्मेणान्विष्य तां गतिम्‌ । युधिष्ठिरमुवाचेदं धौम्यो धर्मभूतां वर:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ धौम्य मुनिने युधिष्ठिरका प्रश्न सुनकर दो घड़ीतक ध्यान-सा लगाया और धर्मपूर्वक उस उपायका अन्वेषण करनेके पश्चात्‌ उनसे इस प्रकार कहा

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca

muhūrtam iva sa dhyātvā dharmeṇānviṣya tāṁ gatim |

yudhiṣṭhiram uvācedaṁ dhaumyo dharmabhūtāṁ varaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Sau khi trầm ngâm giây lát, dò tìm theo đúng dharma con đường phải đi, hiền giả Dhaumya—bậc đứng đầu trong hàng người công chính—bèn nói với Yudhiṣṭhira những lời này.

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'muhūrtam': 'a short while

• a moment (also a traditional time-unit)', 'iva': 'as if

• like', 'saḥ': 'he', 'dhyātvā': 'having meditated/reflected', 'dharmeṇa': 'by/according to dharma

• in a righteous manner', 'anviṣya': 'having searched for

• having investigated', 'tām': 'that', 'gatim': 'course, path, means, proper way forward', 'yudhiṣṭhiram': 'Yudhiṣṭhira (accusative)', 'uvāca': 'said

• spoke', 'idam': 'this (i.e., the following speech)', 'dhaumyaḥ': 'Dhaumya (the sage/priest)', 'dharmabhūtām': 'those who are righteous/established in dharma (genitive plural sense implied)', 'varaḥ': 'best

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhaumya
• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Before giving or taking counsel, one should pause, reflect, and seek the right course in accordance with dharma; ethical action is grounded in thoughtful inquiry rather than haste.

What is happening in the narrative?

After hearing Yudhiṣṭhira’s question, the sage Dhaumya briefly reflects and then, having determined a dharma-consistent course, begins to address Yudhiṣṭhira.