Shloka 32
Adhyāya 76: Kuṇḍina-praveśaḥ, Bhīmena satkāraḥ, Ṛtuparṇa-kṣamā, Aśvahṛdaya-pratyarpanam
Nala’s Reception and Reconciliation
अयं चरति लोके5स्मिन् भूतसाक्षी सदागति: । एष मे मुछ्चतु प्राणान् यदि पापं चराम्यहम्,ये सदा गतिशील वायुदेवता इस जगत्में निरन्तर विचरते रहते हैं, अतः ये सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके साक्षी हैं। यदि मैंने पाप किया है तो ये मेरे प्राणोंका हरण कर लें
ayaṃ carati loke 'smin bhūtasākṣī sadāgatiḥ | eṣa me muñcatu prāṇān yadi pāpaṃ carāmy aham ||
Bṛhadaśvā sprach: „Der, welcher diese Welt durchzieht, stets in Bewegung und Zeuge aller Wesen, — er, der Windgott, möge mir den Lebensatem nehmen, wenn ich Sünde begangen habe.“
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability: since the wind moves everywhere and is a witness to all beings, one invokes it as a divine witness to truth, accepting the gravest consequence (loss of life) if one has acted sinfully.
Bṛhadaśva makes a solemn self-imprecatory oath, calling upon the ever-moving wind—present everywhere—as a universal witness, and declares that if he has committed wrongdoing, the deity may take his life.