Shloka 8
Saṃvaraṇa’s Petition and Tapatī’s Conditioned Consent (सम्वरण-तपती संवादः)
न त्वहं वधमाकाडुक्षे स्वयमेवात्मन: शुभे | परै: कृते वधे पापं न किंचिन्मयि विद्यते,कल्याणि! मैं स्वयं तो आत्महत्याकी इच्छा करता नहीं; परंतु यदि दूसरोंने मेरा वध कर दिया तो उसके लिये मुझे कोई पाप नहीं लगेगा
na tv ahaṃ vadham ākāṅkṣe svayam evātmanaḥ śubhe | paraiḥ kṛte vadhe pāpaṃ na kiñcin mayi vidyate, kalyāṇi ||
The brāhmaṇa said: “O auspicious lady, I do not myself desire death—least of all self-destruction. But if others were to kill me, no sin would attach to me for that act.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral responsibility depends on intention and agency: the speaker rejects self-harm as a chosen act, and distinguishes it from being killed by others, for which he claims no personal sin accrues.
A brāhmaṇa addresses an unnamed woman (calling her ‘auspicious’), clarifying his stance: he will not seek his own death, but if others kill him, he considers the wrongdoing to lie with the killers, not with himself.