Shloka 25
एकचक्रानिवासे ब्राह्मणगृहदुःखश्रवणम् | Hearing the Brāhmaṇa Household’s Distress at Ekacakrā
अनाप्तैर्दत्तमादत्ते नर: शस्त्रमलोहजम् | श्वाविच्छरणमासाद्य प्रमुच्येत हुताशनात्,'शत्रुओंके दिये हुए बिना लोहेके बने शस्त्रको जो मनुष्य ग्रहण कर लेता है, वह साहीके बिलमें घुसकर आगसे बच जाता हैं
anāptair dattam ādatte naraḥ śastram alohajam | śvāviccharaṇam āsādya pramucyeta hutāśanāt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “A man who accepts a weapon made without iron, given by those who are not rightful (or not to be trusted), is like one who reaches the burrow of a porcupine and thereby escapes a blazing fire.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not accept morally tainted or improperly sourced gifts—especially weapons—from untrustworthy or illegitimate givers. Such acceptance may provide short-term protection, but it is a compromised refuge, not a dharmic safeguard.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a proverbial comparison: accepting a dubious, non-iron weapon from improper persons is likened to escaping a fire by taking shelter in a porcupine’s burrow—an image of immediate escape achieved through an uneasy, questionable shelter.