Shloka 3

Parāśara’s Counsel on बुद्धि (Discernment), Karma-Consequences, and Avoidance of Pāpānubandha Actions

Devanagari script

भवता कथितं होतच्छुद्दधे चाहमच्युत । भूयस्तु मे समुत्पन्ना बुद्धिरव्यक्तदर्शनात्‌

Transliteration

bhavatā kathitaṃ hotacchuddadhe cāham acyuta | bhūyastu me samutpannā buddhir avyaktadarśanāt ||

Translation

噫，阿周陀（不坠真理者）！既由你叙述此事，我便受之为真而信之不疑，因为你从不背离真实。然而此理于我仍未明了；其义未显于我之观照，故我心中又复生一问。

Word by Word

• {'bhavatā': 'by you (instrumental singular of bhavat)', 'kathitam': 'told, narrated', 'śraddadhe': 'I trust, I place faith (in it)', 'aham': 'I', 'acyuta': "Acyuta

• 'the infallible one' (epithet of a revered, truth-abiding person)", 'bhūyas': 'again, once more', 'me': 'to me / in me', 'samutpannā': 'arisen, sprung up', 'buddhiḥ': 'understanding, intellect, thought', 'avyakta': 'unmanifest, unclear, not evident', 'darśanāt': 'because of (lack of) seeing/clarity

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Acyuta

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Trust in a truthful teacher is affirmed, yet faith is not presented as a substitute for understanding; when a teaching remains unclear (avyakta), one should ask again so that knowledge becomes explicit and ethically actionable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Acyuta, acknowledging the reliability of his account, but admits that the point has not become clear to him; therefore he raises a renewed question, seeking further explanation.