Shloka 120
जगदग्निरुवाच पुरीषमुत्सृजत्वप्सु हन्तु गां चैव द्रह्मतु । अनृतौ मैथुन यातु बिसस्तैन्यं करोति यः:,जमदग्नि बोले--जिसने मृणालोंका अपहरण किया हो, उसे पानीमें मलत्याग करनेका पाप लगे, गाय मारनेका अथवा उसके साथ द्रोह करनेका तथा ऋतुकाल आये बिना ही स्त्रीके साथ समागम करनेका पाप लगे
jagadaagnir uvāca: purīṣam utsṛjatv apsu hantu gāṃ caiva drohatu | anṛtau maithunaṃ yātu bisastainyaṃ karoti yaḥ ||
Jagadagni said: “Whoever commits theft of lotus-stalks (bisā) should incur the sin of defecating in water, the sin of killing a cow, the sin of betraying (or harming) a cow, and the sin of having sexual intercourse with a woman outside her proper season. Thus is the grave ethical weight of such theft declared.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that even seemingly minor theft (here, lotus-stalks) is ethically serious and is equated with major transgressions—polluting water, harming or betraying a cow, and improper sexual conduct—thereby warning that adharma in small acts carries heavy moral consequences.
In a didactic context on dharma and wrongdoing, the speaker (attributed here to Jagadagni) pronounces a set of sins that attach to a person who steals lotus-stalks, using strong comparisons to impress the gravity of the act.