Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
तमाहुरारता ऋषयो महर्षि न ते वयं पुष्करं चोरयाम: । मिथ्याभिषंगो भवता न कार्य: शपाम तीक्ष्णै: शपथैर्महर्षे
tam āhur āratā ṛṣayo maharṣi na te vayaṁ puṣkaraṁ corayāmaḥ | mithyābhiṣaṅgo bhavatā na kāryaḥ śapāma tīkṣṇaiḥ śapathair maharṣe ||
فلمّا سمع الحكماء ذلك اضطربوا وخاطبوا العارف العظيم: «يا مهارشي، ما سرقنا لوتسك. لا ينبغي لك أن تُلصق بنا تهمةً باطلة. ولتبرئة أنفسنا نحن مستعدّون أن نقسم بأشدّ الأيمان.»
भीष्म उवाच
Do not impose a false charge or suspicion on others; ethical speech requires restraint and fairness. When one’s integrity is questioned, a truthful person seeks to clear it through appropriate means, here expressed as willingness to take even severe oaths.
A group of sages, frightened by an accusation that they stole a lotus, deny the theft and urge the great seer not to maintain a false imputation. They offer to swear strong oaths to prove their innocence.