Shloka 5

Devanagari script

साहमद्य भृशं भीता गृहीता च करे भृशम्‌ | कथं त्वकार्य कुर्या वै प्रदानं ह्वात्मन: स्वयम्‌,'परंतु मैं तो आज अत्यन्त भयभीत हो भगवान्‌ सूर्यदेवके हाथमें पड़ गयी हूँ, तो भी स्वयं अपने शरीरको देने-जैसा न करनेयोग्य नीच कर्म कैसे करूँ?”

Transliteration

sāham adya bhṛśaṃ bhītā gṛhītā ca kare bhṛśam | kathaṃ tv akāryaṃ kuryā vai pradānaṃ hy ātmanāḥ svayam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hôm nay ta kinh hãi tột cùng và đã bị nắm chặt lấy tay; nhưng làm sao ta có thể phạm điều hèn kém, điều bị cấm—làm sao có thể tự đem thân mình mà trao đi?”

Word by Word

साshe/I (that woman)

अहम्I

अद्यtoday/now

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

भीताafraid

गृहीताseized, taken hold of

चand

करेin (his) hand

भृशम्firmly, greatly

कथम्how?

तुbut, however

अकार्यंa wrong act, something not to be done

कुर्याम्should I do?

वैindeed, surely

प्रदानम्giving, offering

ह्वाindeed/forsooth (emphatic particle as read here)

आत्मनःof myself / of the self

स्वयम्by oneself, oneself

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sūrya (Sun-god)

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?

Even under fear or coercive pressure, the speaker frames self-surrender as an akārya (morally impermissible act), highlighting dharma as an inner ethical boundary rather than mere circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a woman describes being gripped by the Sun-god’s hand and, despite her fear, questions how she could perform the disgraceful act of giving herself—indicating resistance and moral conflict in a divine encounter.