Shloka 13

अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः

Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code

Devanagari script

अवृत्त्या क्लिश्यमानो<पि वृत्त्युपायान्‌ विगर्हयन्‌ | माहात्म्याद्‌ व्यथसे नूनं तेनासि हरिण: कृश:

Transliteration

avṛttyā kliśyamāno ’pi vṛttyupāyān vigarhayan | māhātmyād vyathase nūnaṃ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

Translation

婆罗门说道：“纵然你因毫无生计之道而受折磨，你仍责难那些可用的谋生办法。出于自尊与自觉的高贵，你拒绝这些资助；因此你必然忧苦——这便是你如鹿般消瘦的缘由。”

Word by Word

• {'avṛttyā': 'by lack of livelihood

• due to absence of sustenance/means of living', 'kliśyamānaḥ': 'being afflicted, suffering, tormented', 'api': 'even though', 'vṛtti-upāyān': 'means/methods of livelihood

• ways of earning or maintaining oneself', 'vigarhayan': 'censuring, condemning, disparaging', 'māhātmyāt': 'from greatness

• from a sense of high status/dignity (self-regard)', 'vyathase': 'you are pained, distressed, troubled', 'nūnam': 'surely, indeed', 'tena': 'therefore

• because of that', 'asi': 'you are', 'hariṇaḥ': 'a deer (genitive/comparative sense: ‘like a deer’)', 'kṛśaḥ': 'thin, emaciated, weak'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa speaker)
• हरिण (deer)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical tension: refusing legitimate means of livelihood out of pride or an exaggerated sense of dignity can itself become a cause of suffering. Dharma involves discernment—maintaining integrity without letting self-regard turn into self-harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brāhmaṇa addresses someone who is visibly emaciated and distressed. He infers that the person suffers from lack of livelihood yet rejects available ways of support (such as accepted social means of maintenance), and he explains that this refusal—rooted in ‘māhātmya’ or self-importance—is the reason for the person’s weakness.