Shloka 7

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

रक्षस्तु वाचं सम्पूज्य प्रश्न॑ पप्रच्छ तं द्विजम्‌ मोक्ष्यसे ब्रूहि मे प्रश्न केनास्मि हरिण: कृश:

Transliteration

rakṣas tu vācaṃ sampūjya praśnaṃ papraccha taṃ dvijam | mokṣyase brūhi me praśnaṃ kenāsmi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ pāṇḍuś ca ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：那罗刹恭敬称赞婆罗门温和的言辞，便向那位二次生者发问道：“若你答得出我的问题，我就放你走。告诉我——因何缘故我变得极其消瘦？又为何我转为苍白发白？”

Word by Word

• {'rakṣas': 'a rākṣasa

• a man-eating demon/ogre', 'tu': 'but

• then', 'vācam': 'speech

• words', 'sampūjya': 'having honored

• having shown respect', 'praśnam': 'a question', 'papraccha': 'asked (perfect of √prach)', 'tam': 'him', 'dvijam': 'a twice-born

• brāhmaṇa (lit. ‘twice-born’)', 'mokṣyase': 'you will be released

• you will be set free', 'brūhi': 'tell

• speak (imperative of √brū)', 'me': 'to me

• my', 'kena': 'by what? by which cause/instrument?', 'asmi': 'I am', 'hariṇaḥ': 'pale/whitish

• also ‘deer-like’ depending on context (here: pallor)', 'kṛśaḥ': 'thin

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rākṣasa
• dvija (brāhmaṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a violent being can momentarily respond to dharmic speech: respectful, calm words can create space for inquiry and moral reflection. The verse frames liberation (mokṣa here as ‘release’) as contingent on truthful instruction and understanding the cause of one’s suffering/decline.

What is happening in the narrative?

A rākṣasa, impressed by the brāhmaṇa’s peaceful words, agrees to spare him if he answers a question. The rākṣasa asks why he has become extremely weak and pale, setting up a didactic exchange about causes (often ethical/karmic) behind such a condition.