वामदेव उवाच
प्रयच्छ वाम्यौ मम पार्थिव त्वं; कृतं हि ते कार्यम् अन्यैर् अशक्यम् ॥
मा त्वा वधीद् वरुणो घोरपाशैर्; ब्रह्मक्षत्रस्यान्तरे वर्तमानः ॥
राजोवाच
अनड्वाहौ सुव्रतौ साधु दान्ताव्; एतद् विप्राणां वाहनं वामदेव ॥
ताभ्यां याहि त्वं यत्र कामो महर्षे; छन्दांसि वै त्वादृशं संवहन्ति ॥
वामदेव उवाच
छन्दांसि वै मादृशं संवहन्ति; लोके ऽमुष्मिन् पार्थिव यानि सन्ति ॥
अस्मिंस् तु लोके मम यानम् एतद्; अस्मद्विधानाम् अपरेषां च राजन् ॥
राजोवाच
चत्वारो वा गर्दभास् त्वां वहन्तु; श्रेष्ठाश्वतर्यो हरयो वा तुरंगाः ॥
तैस् त्वं याहि क्षत्रियस्यैष वाहो; मम वाम्यौ न तवैतौ हि विद्धि ॥
वामदेव उवाच
घोरं व्रतं ब्राह्मणस्यैतद् आहुर्; एतद् राजन् यद् इहाजीवमानः ॥
अयस्मया घोररूपा महान्तो; वहन्तु त्वां शितशूलाश् चतुर्धा ॥
राजोवाच
ये त्वा विदुर् ब्राह्मणं वामदेव; वाचा हन्तुं मनसा कर्मणा वा ॥
ते त्वां सशिष्यम् इह पातयन्तु; मद्वाक्यनुन्नाः शितशूलासिहस्ताः ॥
वामदेव उवाच
नानुयोगा ब्राह्मणानां भवन्ति; वाचा राजन् मनसा कर्मणा वा ॥
यस् त्व् एवं ब्रह्म तपसान्वेति विद्वांस्; तेन श्रेष्ठो भवति हि जीवमानः ॥
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
एवम् उक्ते वामदेवेन राजन्; समुत्तस्थू राक्षसा घोररूपाः ॥
तैः शूलहस्तैर् वध्यमानः स राजा; प्रोवाचेदं वाक्यम् उच्चैस् तदानीम् ॥
इक्ष्वाकवो यदि ब्रह्मन् दलो वा; विधेया मे यदि वान्ये विशो ऽपि ॥
नोत्स्रक्ष्ये ऽहं वामदेवस्य वाम्यौ; नैवंविधा धर्मशीला भवन्ति ॥
एवं ब्रुवन्न् एव स यातुधानैर्; हतो जगामाशु महीं क्षितीशः ॥
ततो विदित्वा नृपतिं निपातितम्; इक्ष्वाकवो वै दलम् अभ्यषिञ्चन् ॥
vāmadeva uvāca
prayaccha vāmyau mama pārthiva tvaṃ; kṛtaṃ hi te kāryam anyair aśakyam ||
mā tvā vadhīd varuṇo ghorapāśair; brahmakṣatrasyāntare vartamānaḥ ||
rājovāca
anaḍvāhau suvratau sādhu dāntāv; etad viprāṇāṃ vāhanaṃ vāmadeva ||
tābhyāṃ yāhi tvaṃ yatra kāmo maharṣe; chandāṃsi vai tvādṛśaṃ saṃvahanti ||
vāmadeva uvāca
chandāṃsi vai mādṛśaṃ saṃvahanti; loke 'muṣmin pārthiva yāni santi ||
asmiṃs tu loke mama yānam etad; asmadvidhānām apareṣāṃ ca rājan ||
rājovāca
catvāro vā gardabhās tvāṃ vahantu; śreṣṭhāśvataryo harayo vā turaṃgāḥ ||
tais tvaṃ yāhi kṣatriyasyaiṣa vāho; mama vāmyau na tavaitau hi viddhi ||
vāmadeva uvāca
ghoraṃ vrataṃ brāhmaṇasyaitad āhur; etad rājan yad ihājīvamānaḥ ||
ayasmayā ghorarūpā mahānto; vahantu tvāṃ śitaśūlāś caturdhā ||
rājovāca
ye tvā vidur brāhmaṇaṃ vāmadeva; vācā hantuṃ manasā karmaṇā vā ||
te tvāṃ saśiṣyam iha pātayantu; madvākyanunnāḥ śitaśūlāsihastāḥ ||
vāmadeva uvāca
nānuyogā brāhmaṇānāṃ bhavanti; vācā rājan manasā karmaṇā vā ||
yas tv evaṃ brahma tapasānveti vidvāṃs; tena śreṣṭho bhavati hi jīvamānaḥ ||
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca
evam ukte vāmadevena rājan; samuttasthū rākṣasā ghorarūpāḥ ||
taiḥ śūlahastair vadhyamānaḥ sa rājā; provācedaṃ vākyam uccais tadānīm ||
ikṣvākavo yadi brahman dalo vā; vidheyā me yadi vānye viśo 'pi ||
notsrakṣye 'haṃ vāmadevasya vāmyau; naivaṃvidhā dharmaśīlā bhavanti ||
evaṃ bruvann eva sa yātudhānair; hato jagāmāśu mahīṃ kṣitīśaḥ ||
tato viditvā nṛpatiṃ nipātitam; ikṣvākavo vai dalam abhyaṣiñcan ||
Vamadeva said: 'Give me back my Vamya horses, O king; the deed you needed them for, impossible for others, has already been done. Do not let Varuna strike you down with his terrible nooses, standing as you do between brahmana and kshatriya.' The king answered: 'Oxen, well-trained and gentle, are the proper mount for brahmanas. Go on them wherever you wish, great sage; for the sacred hymns carry one such as you. But these horses are the mount of a kshatriya; they are mine, not yours.' Vamadeva replied: 'The hymns carry one such as I in that other world; but in this world, this chariot is my proper conveyance. They call it a terrible vow, when a brahmana lives here deprived of the means of life. Let iron beings, terrible in form, bear you away in four directions upon their sharp spears.' In his insolence the king wished that such beings would strike down Vamadeva himself, together with his disciple. The sage said: 'Brahmanas must not be oppressed by word, by thought, or by deed. He who understands this through austerity becomes the foremost of men while yet living.' Markandeya said: 'When Vamadeva had spoken thus, O king, terrible rakshasas rose up. Struck down by them, spears in hand, the king cried out these words in a loud voice even then: "Whether the Ikshvakus, or Dala, or any other subjects are to be my masters, I will not release Vamadeva's Vamya horses; such is not the conduct of the righteous." Even as he spoke thus, slain by the demons, the lord of the earth went swiftly down to the ground. Then, learning that the king had fallen, the Ikshvakus consecrated Dala in his place.'
d2b71ea9deb2 · publicado 16 jul 2026, 17:19:47 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Shala does not perish from poverty or misjudgment, but from contempt for his promise and for the sacred standing of the brahmana. Kshatriya power, severed from truth, brings about its own destruction.