Shloka 14
विहग: सुमुखो यस्तु सुपर्णस्यथात्मज: किल । स वै विचिन्तयामास सौवर्णान् वीक्ष्य वायसान्,एक समय पक्षिराज गरुड़के पुत्र सुमुखने मेरु-पर्वतपर सुनहरे शरीरवाले कौवोंको देखकर सोचा कि यह सुमेरुपर्वत उत्तम, मध्यम तथा अधम पक्षियोंमें कुछ भी अन्तर नहीं रहने देता है। इसलिये मैं इसको त्याग दूँगा। ऐसा विचार करके वे वहाँसे अन्यत्र चले गये
vihaṅgaḥ sumukho yas tu suparṇasyātha ātmajaḥ kila | sa vai vicintayāmāsa sauvarṇān vīkṣya vāyasān ||
Sañjaya said: “Sumukha, a bird and indeed the son of Suparṇa (Garuḍa), on seeing crows with golden bodies, began to reflect. He thought: ‘This Sumeru makes no distinction between superior, middling, and inferior birds; therefore I shall abandon it.’ Having thus resolved, he departed from that place to elsewhere.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode highlights ethical discernment (viveka): a place or system that erases meaningful distinctions between the worthy and the unworthy can be seen as morally confusing, prompting a principled person to withdraw rather than endorse such indiscrimination.
Sañjaya narrates that Sumukha, Garuḍa’s son, sees crows appearing golden (by association with Meru/Sumeru) and reflects that the mountain makes no difference between high and low birds; deciding this is undesirable, he leaves that place.