Shloka 110
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
ऋषय ऊचु: केन क्षुधापरीतानामस्माकं पापकर्मणाम् । नृशंसेनापनीतानि बिसान्याहारकांक्षिणाम्
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ: kena kṣudhāparītānām asmākaṃ pāpakarmaṇām | nṛśaṃsenāpanītāni bisāny āhārakāṅkṣiṇām ||
ঋষিসকলে ক’লে—“হায়! আমি সকলোৱে ক্ষুধাত কাতৰ, এতিয়া আহাৰ কামনা কৰিছোঁ; তথাপি কোনো নিষ্ঠুৰে আমাৰ—পাপকর্মভাৰাক্ৰান্ত—মৃণাল কেঢ়ি নিলে। সি কোন?”
शुन:सख उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames theft and callousness toward the hungry as nṛśaṃsatā (cruelty). Even when the speakers admit their own pāpa-karma, the act of depriving the needy of basic sustenance is presented as ethically reprehensible, highlighting compassion as a dharmic standard.
A group of sages, tormented by hunger and seeking food, discover that the bisāni (edible lotus-stalks) meant for their meal have been taken away. They question who the merciless person is that stole them at such a moment.