Shloka 17

Devanagari script

य॑ य॑ देवं त्वमेतेन मन्त्रेणावाहयिष्यसि । तेन तेन वशे भद्रे स्थातव्यं ते भविष्यति,भद्रे! तुम इस मन्त्रके द्वारा जिस-जिस देवताका आवाहन करोगी वह-वह तुम्हारे अधीन हो जानेके लिये बाध्य होगा

Transliteration

yaṃ yaṃ devaṃ tvam etena mantreṇāvāhayīṣyasi | tena tena vaśe bhadre sthātavyaṃ te bhaviṣyati, bhadre ||

Translation

Vị Bà-la-môn nói: “Hỡi người nữ cát tường, bất cứ thần linh nào nàng triệu thỉnh bằng chân ngôn này, chính vị thần ấy sẽ bị buộc phải quy phục, ở dưới quyền nàng và thuận theo ý muốn của nàng.”

Word by Word

यःwho/which (deity)

यःwho/which (deity) (repeated: whichever)

देवम्god, deity

त्वम्you

एतेनby/with this

मन्त्रेणby/with (a) mantra

आवाहयिष्यसिyou will invoke/call (hither)

तेनby that/thereby; with that (one)

तेनby that (repeated: each such one)

वशेin (your) control, under sway

भद्रेO auspicious lady / O good one

स्थातव्यम्must stand/remain (i.e., must be)

तेfor you / of you (context: for you)

भविष्यतिwill be; will come to be

भद्रेO auspicious lady

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (a Brahmin speaker)

द

देव (deity, unspecified)

म

मन्त्र (mantra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the perceived potency of mantra and ritual invocation (āvāhana): correctly employed sacred speech is said to compel even divine beings to comply. Ethically, it raises the tension between devotion and instrumental use of the sacred—treating divine power as something to be commanded rather than reverently sought.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin addresses a woman as “bhadre” and assures her that by using a particular mantra to invoke any deity, that deity will be forced to come under her control. The statement functions as a promise of efficacy and authority granted through the mantra within the ongoing episode.