Shloka 22

Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra

Devanagari script

विनेम॑ पक्षिणं श्येन शरणार्थिनमागतम्‌ । येनेम॑ वर्जयेथास्त्वं कर्मणा पक्षिसत्तम । तदाचक्ष्व करिष्यामि न हि दास्ये कपोतकम्‌,किंतु शरण लेनेकी इच्छासे आये हुए इस पक्षीको नहीं त्याग सकता। पक्षिश्रेष्ठ श्येन! जिस कामके करनेसे तुम इसे छोड़ सको, वह मुझे बताओ; मैं वही करूँगा, किंतु इस कबूतरको तो नहीं दूँगा

Transliteration

vinemaṁ pakṣiṇaṁ śyena śaraṇārthinam āgatam | yenemaṁ varjayethās tvaṁ karmaṇā pakṣisattama | tad ācakṣva kariṣyāmi na hi dāsye kapotakam ||

Translation

“噢，Śyena，我不能抛弃这只前来求庇护的鸟。噢，群鸟之最，请告诉我该做何事，才能使你停止夺取它；我必照做。但这只鸽子，我决不交出。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vinemaṁ (na + imaṁ)', 'definition': 'not this

• I will not (abandon) this one'}, {'term': 'pakṣiṇam', 'definition': 'bird'}, {'term': 'śyena', 'definition': 'hawk

• Śyena (the speaker)'}, {'term': 'śaraṇārthinam', 'definition': 'one seeking refuge

• a suppliant'}, {'term': 'āgatam', 'definition': 'come

• arrived'}, {'term': 'yena', 'definition': 'by which

• through what means'}, {'term': 'varjayethāḥ', 'definition': 'you would refrain/avoid

• you would desist'}, {'term': 'karmaṇā', 'definition': 'by an act

• through a deed'}, {'term': 'pakṣisattama', 'definition': 'best of birds (honorific address)'}, {'term': 'tad', 'definition': 'that (act/means)'}, {'term': 'ācakṣva', 'definition': 'tell

• declare'}, {'term': 'kariṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I will do'}, {'term': 'na hi dāsye', 'definition': 'indeed I will not give'}, {'term': 'kapotakam', 'definition': 'a dove/pigeon (the protected bird)'}]

Speaker

श्येन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śyena (hawk)
• Kapotaka (dove/pigeon)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds śaraṇāgati-dharma: one who has come for refuge should not be abandoned. Even when confronted by a claimant (here, the hawk’s natural demand), the ethical priority is to protect the suppliant and seek an alternative that avoids betrayal of refuge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the hawk-and-dove episode, the hawk (Śyena) presses a claim over the dove as prey. The speaker refuses to hand over the dove because it has sought protection, and instead invites the hawk to propose some other compensating act—anything, except surrendering the refugee dove.