Shloka 61
Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha
Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context
अभयं सर्वभूतेभ्यो यो दत्त्वा नावबुध्यते । भारत! यह देख फल-मूल, पवित्री (कुश), पुष्प और ओषधियाँ--ये सहस्रों पदार्थ यह कहकर बारंबार रोने लगे कि “यह खोटी बुद्धिवाला क्षुद्र देवल निश्चय ही फिर हमारा उच्छेद करेगा। तभी तो यह सम्पूर्ण भूतोंकी अभयदान देकर भी अब अपनी प्रतिज्ञाको स्मरण नहीं करता है” ।।
abhayaṁ sarvabhūtebhyo yo dattvā nāvabudhyate | bhārata! phala-mūla-kuśa-puṣpa-oṣadhayaḥ—ime sahasraśaḥ padārthāḥ—iti punar-punar vilapya ruroduḥ: “eṣa khalu khotibuddhiḥ kṣudro devalaḥ punar asmākam ucchhedaṁ kariṣyati; tasmād eṣa sarvabhūtebhyo ’bhayadānaṁ dattvāpi idānīṁ svapratijñāṁ na smarati” ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, he who grants fearlessness to all beings yet fails to understand (or remember) what he has pledged—because of him, fruits and roots, the purifying kuśa-grass, flowers, and medicinal herbs—countless natural things—began to weep again and again, lamenting: ‘This petty Devala, of misguided intellect, will surely destroy us once more. That is why, even after giving fearlessness to all creatures, he now does not recall his own vow.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A vow of protection (abhaya) is ethically binding: granting fearlessness to all beings must be matched by steadfast remembrance and consistent conduct. Forgetting or violating such a pledge is portrayed as a moral failure that endangers the vulnerable.
Natural entities—fruits, roots, kuśa-grass, flowers, and herbs—are personified as lamenting. They fear that Devala, described as petty and misguided, will again destroy them, because despite having granted universal fearlessness, he no longer remembers his own vow.