Shloka 7

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving

Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मभूतश्चरन्‌ विप्र: कृष्णद्वैपायन: पुरा । ददर्श कीटं धावन्तं शीघ्रं शकटवर्त्मनि

Transliteration

brahmabhūtaś caran vipraḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaḥ purā | dadarśa kīṭaṃ dhāvantaṃ śīghraṃ śakaṭavartmani ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“久远以前，婆罗门黑岛仙人克利须那·德瓦伊帕亚那（毗耶娑）安住于梵境而行走四方，见一小虫沿着车辙疾奔。”

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मभूतः: having become Brahman; Brahman-like
• ब्रह्मभूतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मभूत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चरन्: walking; moving about
• चरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विप्रः: brahmin; sage
• विप्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णद्वैपायनः: Krishna-Dvaipayana (Vyasa)
• कृष्णद्वैपायनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णद्वैपायन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुरा: formerly; once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• ददर्श: saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• कीटम्: an insect; worm
• कीटम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीट
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• धावन्तम्: running
• धावन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र

• शकटवर्त्मनि: on the cart-track; in the wagon-road
• शकटवर्त्मनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकटवर्त्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa)
• kīṭa (insect)
• śakaṭavartman (cart-track/road)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse initiates an ethical lesson grounded in compassion and non-injury: a realized sage notices even a tiny creature’s urgent effort to preserve its life, suggesting that dharma includes attentiveness to and protection of vulnerable beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma recounts an old episode: Vyāsa, while traveling, observes an insect running quickly along a cart’s track. This observation serves as the opening image for a moral exemplum that follows.