Shloka 125
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
यस्माददुष्टमन्नं दूषयसि तस्मादनपत्यो भविष्यसीति । दुष्टे चान्ने नैष मम शापो भविष्यतीति,“अतः ऐसी दशामें कठोरहृदय होनेके कारण मैं उस शापको बदलनेमें असमर्थ हूँ। इसलिये आप जाइये।” तब उत्तंक बोले--'राजन्! आपने अन्नकी अपवित्रता देखकर मुझसे क्षमाके लिये अनुनय-विनय की है, किंतु पहले आपने कहा था कि “तुम शुद्ध अन्नको दूषित बता रहे हो, इसलिये संतानहीन हो जाओगे।” इसके बाद अन्नका दोषयुक्त होना प्रमाणित हो गया, अत: आपका यह शाप मुझपर लागू नहीं होगा”
yasmād aduṣṭam annaṃ dūṣayasi tasmād anapatyo bhaviṣyasīti | duṣṭe cānne naiṣa mama śāpo bhaviṣyatīti |
Rama said: "Since you are condemning food that is not tainted, you shall therefore become without offspring." But when the food was indeed found to be tainted, he added: "In the case of tainted food, this curse of mine will not take effect." The episode frames a moral tension: a hasty judgment invites a severe consequence, yet truth, once established, limits the legitimacy of the curse and restores ethical balance.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech and judgment must be grounded in verified truth; a rash accusation can incur grave consequences, yet when facts prove otherwise, dharma requires that an unjust curse not stand.
Rama pronounces a curse of childlessness for allegedly calling pure food impure, but once the food is shown to be actually tainted, he states that his curse will not apply in that circumstance.