मृगकृत्तिपरीधानो मृगकृत्तिनिजाम्बरम् । मामुवाच पिता ब्रह्मा सुहंसः सारसं यथा ॥ २८ ॥
mṛgakṛttiparīdhānō mṛgakṛttinijāmbaram | māmuvāca pitā brahmā suhaṁsaḥ sārasaṁ yathā || 28 ||
Translation
Wearing a deerskin, my father Brahmā spoke to me, who wore a deerskin of my own, as a fine swan speaks to a crane.
Word by word
- mṛga
- of a deer
- kṛtti
- skin
- parīdhānō
- (parīdhānaḥ) wearing
- nija
- of my own
- ambaram
- wearing as garment
- mām
- to me
- uvāca
- spoke
- pitā
- my father
- brahmā
- Brahmā
- suhaṁsaḥ
- a fine swan
- sārasaṁ
- to a crane
- yathā
- as
Meaning
The doubling continues: deerskin to deerskin. The simile is exact. Haṁsa and sārasa are both white water birds and at a distance look much alike, yet the swan, in Indian lore, can separate milk from water, and so stands for the power of discernment. The crane looks the part and has not got that power. So the verse is a quiet warning before the event. Father and son look alike, and only one of them can tell the real from the unreal. Vasiṣṭha, telling this about himself in front of the assembled court, is not afraid to be the crane.