Shloka 30

आदि पर्व — अध्याय ८३: ययाति-इन्द्र-संवादः तथा अष्टक-प्रश्नः

Yayāti–Indra Dialogue and Aṣṭaka’s Inquiry

Devanagari script

धर्मज्ञ इति विख्यात एष राजा भृगूद्वह । अकिक्रान्तश्न मर्यादां काव्यैतत्‌ कथयामि ते,भुगुश्रेष्ठ ये महाराज धर्मज्ञके रूपमें प्रसिद्ध हैं; किंतु इन्होंने ही मर्यादाका उल्लंघन किया है। कविनन्दन! यह आपसे यथार्थ कह रही हूँ

Transliteration

dharmajña iti vikhyāta eṣa rājā bhṛgūdvaha | akikrāntaś ca maryādāṃ kāvyaitat kathayāmi te ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说道：“噢，婆利古族中最卓越者，此王素以通晓法（dharma）而闻名；然而他确已逾越正当行为的界限。噢，诗人之子迦维耶（Kāvya）啊，我将如实告知你此事。”

Word by Word

धर्मज्ञःknower of dharma, righteous

इतिthus (quotative)

विख्यातःrenowned, well-known

एषःthis

राजाking

भृगूद्वहO best of the Bhṛgus

अतिक्रान्तःhaving transgressed

मर्यादाम्boundary, propriety, limit

काव्यO Kāvy(a) (descendant of Kavi/Śukra)

एतत्this (statement/matter)

कथयामिI tell, I relate

तेto you

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

a king (unnamed in this verse)

Bhṛgu lineage (Bhṛgūdvaha)

a poet’s son (kāvyā / kavinandana implied by context)

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?

Moral reputation is not sufficient: even one famed as a knower of dharma can violate maryādā (proper limits). The verse highlights the ethical demand that conduct must match proclaimed righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana introduces a story about a king who is celebrated for dharma yet has crossed a boundary of propriety, and he signals that he will recount the matter truthfully to his listener addressed as ‘foremost of the Bhṛgus’ and ‘poet’s son’.