Shloka 8

Adhyāya 42 (Śānti Parva): Śrāddha, Aurdhvadaihika Rites, and Royal Welfare Measures

Devanagari script

स तेषामनृणो भूत्वा गत्वा लोकेष्ववाच्यताम्‌

Transliteration

sa teṣām anṛṇo bhūtvā gatvā lokeṣv avācyatām

Translation

既已对他们尽偿其义、了却所负之债——诸般责任皆已圆满——他便启程而去，进入那不复为人言说的诸界，超越寻常传闻与记忆所及。

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तेषाम्: of them / to them
• तेषाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अनृणः: free from debt/obligation
• अनृणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनृण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• लोकेषु: in the worlds
• लोकेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• अवाच्यताम्: unspeakableness / being beyond reproach (lit. not-to-be-spoken-of)
• अवाच्यताम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवाच्यता
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)
• लोक (worlds)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should complete and repay one’s obligations (ṛṇa)—to people, dependents, benefactors, and duties—before withdrawing from life; ethical freedom is framed as becoming anṛṇa, ‘debtless’.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that a certain person, after settling what he owed to others, departed from this world and reached a state or realm described as avācyatā—beyond ordinary mention—signaling death or transcendence after duties are fulfilled.