Upanishads · Mahā 2.28
॥
Devanāgarī
परिज्ञातस्वभावं तं शुकं स जनको नृपः आनीय मुदितात्मानमवलोक्य ननाम ह
Transliteration (IAST)
parijñātasvabhāvaṃ taṃ śukaṃ sa janako nṛpaḥ ānīya muditātmānamavalokya nanāma ha
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
परिज्ञात-स्वभावम् तम् शुकम्parijñāta-svabhāvam tam śukamthat Śuka whose nature he had discerned; Śuka, whose essence had become plain to him
सः जनकः नृपः आनीयsaḥ janakaḥ nṛpaḥ ānīyaking Janaka, having brought him in; that sovereign Janaka, summoning him
मुदित-आत्मानम् अवलोक्यmudita-ātmānam avalokyabeholding him glad of soul; seeing him rejoicing in spirit
ननाम हnanāma habowed down; inclined before him
Translation
Having discerned Śuka's nature, king Janaka summoned him and, beholding him glad of soul, bowed down before him.
Version
f59034a7f23c · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The king bows to the youth whom for three weeks he kept at the gate and in the courtyard.
This bow is the trial's end and its explanation. Janaka was not humiliating Śuka; he was ascertaining. Having ascertained, he bowed without delay and without explanations.
Note to what exactly he bowed. Not to learning and not to lineage: parijñāta-svabhāva, “whose nature is discerned”, and mudita-ātmā, “glad of soul”. What was tested was not knowledge but a state.
Here is the key to the whole scene. Knowledge Śuka had from birth; it had to be learned whether it had grown into him. Ingrown knowledge is seen as health is seen — by what a man does when no one is watching.
And one more trait, important for what follows. The teacher is first to bow before the pupil. In a few verses the pupil will acknowledge that from the teacher he received everything — but it was not he who began.