Shloka 41

Vyāsa’s Inquiry into Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Tapas and the Identification of Vidura with Dharma

Devanagari script

उपरोधो भवेदेवमस्माकं तपस: कृते । त्वत्स्नेहपाशबद्धा च हीयेयं तपस: परात्‌

Transliteration

uparodho bhaved evam asmākaṁ tapasaḥ kṛte | tvatsnehapāśabaddhā ca hīyeyaṁ tapasaḥ parāt ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说：“若仍如此，便会成为我们修苦行的障碍。她若被你情爱之索所缚，必将衰退——从更高的出离苦行之道上坠落。”

Word by Word

• उपरोधः: obstruction, hindrance
• उपरोधः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपरोध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: would be / might become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• एवम्: thus, in this way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• अस्माकम्: of us / our
• अस्माकम्: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Plural

• तपसः: of austerity / of penance
• तपसः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• कृते: for the sake of
• कृते: Prayojana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृत

• त्वत्-स्नेह-पाश-बद्धा: bound by the noose of affection for you
• त्वत्-स्नेह-पाश-बद्धा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बद्ध (√बन्ध्)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• हीयेयम्: I would fall away / be diminished
• Type: Verb
• Root: हा
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 1st, Singular, Atmanepada

• तपसः: from austerity
• तपसः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• परात्: from the higher (state) / from what is beyond
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Attachment (sneha) can become a binding ‘noose’ that obstructs tapas; spiritual discipline requires guarding against emotional bonds that pull one away from the higher ascetic aim.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator warns that if the situation continues, their ascetic undertaking will be hindered, because a woman—bound by someone’s affection—would weaken in her pursuit of the higher ascetic path.