Shloka 23

Devanagari script

युक्ता यदा जानपदा भिक्षन्ते ब्राह्मणा इव । अभीदक्षणं भिक्षुरूपेण राजानं घ्नन्ति तादृूशा:

Transliteration

yuktā yadā jānāpadā bhikṣante brāhmaṇā iva | abhīdakṣiṇaṃ bhikṣurūpeṇa rājānaṃ ghnanti tādṛśāḥ ||

Translation

乌塔提耶说道：“当国中乡民结成团伙，像婆罗门一般四处乞求，又披着行乞者的外衣而无所畏惧、肆意妄为时，这等人终将把国王击倒。”

Word by Word

• युक्ताः: organized, banded together
• युक्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युक्त (युज्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यदा: when
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा

• जानपदाः: country-folk, provincials
• जानपदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जानपद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भिक्षन्ते: beg (for alms)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिक्ष्
• Form: Present, Indicative, Atmanepada, Third, Plural

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अभीदक्षिणम्: without (giving) dakṣiṇā / without fee (i.e., deceitfully)
• अभीदक्षिणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभीदक्षिण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• भिक्षु-रूपेण: in the form/guise of a mendicant
• भिक्षु-रूपेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षु-रूप
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• राजानम्: the king
• राजानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• घ्नन्ति: kill, strike down
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Present, Indicative, Parasmaipada, Third, Plural

• तादृशाः: such (people)
• तादृशाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तादृश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

उतथ्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Utathya
• king
• countryfolk (subjects)
• Brahmins
• mendicants (bhikṣu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s downfall can come when disorderly groups exploit the appearance of religious poverty to mask coercion and violence; true dharma requires both genuine piety and the protection of social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Utathya warns that when villagers/subjects organize and begin roaming as if they were Brahmins seeking alms, they may actually be impostors—bold, fear-free, and violent—who, under the guise of mendicants, end up destroying the king.