Shloka 30
उत्तङ्कोपाख्यानप्रारम्भः — Uttanka’s Tapas, Viṣṇu-stuti, and the Dhundhumāra Prophecy
Opening
आशड्कय मद्वचो होतद् धर्मलोपो भवेत् तव | जातोऊसि प्रथिते वंशे कुरूणां भरतर्षभ
āśaṅkya mad-vaco hotad dharma-lopo bhavet tava | jāto ’si prathite vaṃśe kurūṇāṃ bharatarṣabha ||
毗舍波耶那说：“我如此言说，是担心你若疑惧我的话，反会使你的法（dharma）有所亏损。噢，婆罗多族中的雄牛，你生于声名显赫的俱卢一脉；因此当以那光耀家法为准则行事，守护正法，莫因误解而使其衰落。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech and counsel must be given with care so that it does not cause a ‘dharma-lopa’ (a lapse from righteousness). One’s conduct should align with the standards of one’s noble lineage—here, the famed Kuru-Bharata tradition—so that dharma is preserved rather than diminished.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, frames his statement as a corrective or clarifying counsel: he fears that his earlier words might be misconstrued and lead the listener into unrighteousness. He therefore reminds the addressee that, being born in the celebrated Kuru line, he must uphold dharma befitting that heritage.