Shloka 2

उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel

Devanagari script

एतदिच्छामि तत्त्वेन व्याख्यातुं वै पितामह । सूक्ष्मा गतिर्हिं धर्मस्य यत्र मुहान्ति मानवा:

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: etad icchāmi tattvena vyākhyātuṃ vai pitāmaha | sūkṣmā gatir hi dharmasya yatra muhyanti mānavāḥ ||

Translation

尤提希提罗说道：“祖父啊，我愿你依真实为我阐明此事。因为达摩之道极其微妙——微妙到使世人常在其中迷惑。”

Word by Word

• एतत्: this (matter)
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इच्छामि: I wish/desire
• इच्छामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तत्त्वेन: in truth; accurately
• तत्त्वेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• व्याख्यातुम्: to explain
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-आ-ख्या
• Form: Tumun (infinitive)

• वै: indeed; surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• पितामह: O grandsire
• पितामह: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सूक्ष्मा: subtle
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• गतिः: course; path; movement
• गतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: for; indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• धर्मस्य: of dharma; of righteousness
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र

• मुह्यन्ति: become deluded; are confused
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुह्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मानवाः: men; humans
• मानवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma)
• Dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not always obvious; its true course can be subtle, so one should seek careful, truthful explanation from a reliable authority before judging right and wrong.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Grandfather’ and requests a precise clarification on a moral issue, acknowledging that people often become confused when trying to determine what dharma requires.