त्वमतीव गुणश्लाघी पृच्छको रघुनन्दन । अहं च वक्तुं जानामि समो योगोऽयमावयोः ॥ ५१ ॥
tvamatīva guṇaślāghī pṛcchakō raghunandana | ahaṁ ca vaktuṁ jānāmi samō yōgō’yamāvayōḥ || 51 ||
Translation
You, delight of the Raghus, are a questioner most praiseworthy for your virtues, and I know how to speak. This meeting of ours is an even one.
Word by word
- tvam
- you
- atīva
- most
- guṇa
- for your virtues
- ślāghī
- praiseworthy
- pṛcchakō
- (pṛcchakaḥ) a questioner
- raghunandana
- delight of the Raghus
- ahaṁ
- I
- ca
- and
- vaktuṁ
- how to speak
- jānāmi
- know
- samō
- (samaḥ) even
- yōgō
- (yogaḥ) meeting
- ayam
- this
- āvayōḥ
- of ours
Meaning
Now the tests are applied to the two people present, and both pass. It is striking that Vasiṣṭha includes himself, plainly and without modesty: ahaṁ ca vaktuṁ jānāmi, and I know how to speak. A teacher who has just told a student to examine his teachers cannot be coy about his own standing. Samo yogaḥ, an even yoking: as with two oxen matched for a yoke, teaching needs both to pull.