Shloka 2

दक्षिणा-दिक्, पितृपक्ष-प्रतिष्ठा, तथा कर्मगतिः — Suparṇa’s Cosmographic Instruction

Devanagari script

पूर्वां वा दक्षिणां वाहमथवा पश्षिमां दिशम्‌ उत्तरां वा द्विजश्रेष्ठ कुतो गच्छामि गालव

Transliteration

pūrvāṃ vā dakṣiṇāṃ vāham athavā paścimāṃ diśam | uttarāṃ vā dvijaśreṣṭha kuto gacchāmi gālava ||

Translation

优帕尔那说道：“我该往东方去，还是往南方，或是往西方？抑或往北方，婆罗门中最卓越者啊——迦罗婆，告诉我：我当往何处前行？”

Word by Word

पूर्वाम्eastern (direction)

वाor

दक्षिणाम्southern (direction)

वाor

अहम्I

अथवाor else

पश्चिमाम्western (direction)

दिशम्direction

उत्तराम्northern (direction)

वाor

द्विजश्रेष्ठO best of the twice-born (brahmins)

कुतःwhither? / from where? (here: where to)

गच्छामिI go / shall I go

गालवO Galava

Speaker

युपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yūparṇa

Gālava

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined action guided by counsel: before acting, one seeks clear direction from a qualified person (here addressed as dvijaśreṣṭha), reflecting dharma as purposeful, guided conduct rather than impulsive movement.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yūparṇa addresses Gālava and asks which direction he should go—east, south, west, or north—indicating readiness to act but awaiting instruction about the proper course of travel or next step in their undertaking.