Upanishads · Mahā 2.24
॥
Devanāgarī
ततः प्रवेशयामास जनकोऽन्तःपुराजिरे राजा न दृश्यते तावदिति सप्तदिनानि तम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ praveśayāmāsa janako'ntaḥpurājire rājā na dṛśyate tāvaditi saptadināni tam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततः प्रवेशयामास जनकःtataḥ praveśayāmāsa janakaḥthen Janaka let him in; after that Janaka admitted him
अन्तःपुर-अजिरेantaḥpura-ajireinto the court of the inner chambers; to the yard of the women's quarters
राजा न दृश्यते तावत् इतिrājā na dṛśyate tāvat iti“the king is not yet to be seen”; “the sovereign is not yet in sight”
सप्त-दिनानि तम्sapta-dināni tamhim — for seven days; him, for seven days
Translation
Then Janaka brought him into the court of the inner chambers — “the king is not yet to be seen” — and kept him so for seven days.
Version
38b9627c09c4 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third week, and the treatment has turned into its opposite.
Now Śuka is neither at the gate nor in the courtyard, but in the antaḥpura — the women's half of the palace, its most closed and sumptuous part. Where outsiders are not taken at all.
And the king, as before, “is not to be seen”.
The device is ingenious: the guest is not pushed away — the guest is surrounded. If disdain has not broken a man, he is tried by its opposite.
And this probe is subtler. Disdain stings pride and thereby wakes attention. Luxury stings nothing; it lulls.