Shloka 64
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
Devanagari script
पितोवाच रूपेण सदृशस्त्वं मे शीलेन च दमेन च | परीक्षितश्न बहुधा सक्तूनादझि ते सुत
Transliteration
pitovāca rūpeṇa sadṛśas tvaṃ me śīlena ca damena ca | parīkṣitaś ca bahudhā saktūn adya hi te suta ||
Translation
父亲说道：“你的容貌与我相似，你的品行与克制亦复如是。我已用多种方式考验过你；因此，孩子，今日我接受你所奉上的萨克图——烘炒大麦粉。”
Word by Word
{'pitā uvāca''the father said', 'rūpeṇa': 'by appearance, in form', 'sadṛśaḥ': 'similar, like', 'tvam': 'you', 'me': 'to me, mine', 'śīlena': 'by character
{'pitā uvāca':
good conduct, moral disposition', 'ca''and', 'damena': 'by self-control
good conduct, moral disposition', 'ca':
restraint of the senses', 'parīkṣitaḥ''tested, examined', 'bahudhā': 'in many ways, repeatedly', 'saktūn': 'saktu
restraint of the senses', 'parīkṣitaḥ':
roasted barley-flour (a simple food/oblation)', 'adya''today, now', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'te': 'your, of you', 'suta': 'son'}
roasted barley-flour (a simple food/oblation)', 'adya':
Speaker
पुत्र उवाच
Characters & Entities
F
Father (pitā)S
Son (suta)S
Saktu (roasted barley-flour)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Educational Q&A
True worth is shown through śīla (upright conduct) and dama (sense-restraint), not merely through outward resemblance; only after repeated testing should one grant trust and acceptance.
A father addresses his son, praises his likeness in form and virtues, states that he has examined him many times, and therefore accepts the son’s simple offering of saktu as a sign of approval and relationship.