Shloka 6
Ālasyadoṣa-nirdeśa (On the Fault of Negligence) — The Camel’s Long-Neck Exemplum
उड्ड उवाच भगवंस्त्वत्प्रसादान्मे दीर्घा ग्रीवा भवेदियम् । योजनानां शतं साग्र॑ गच्छामि चरितुं विभो,ऊँट बोला--भगवन्! आपकी कृपासे मेरी यह गर्दन बहुत बड़ी हो जाय, जिससे जब मैं चरनेके लिये जाऊँ तो सौ योजनसे अधिक दूरतककी खाद्य वस्तुएँ ग्रहण कर सकूँ
uḍḍa uvāca bhagavaṁs tvatprasādān me dīrghā grīvā bhaved iyam | yojanānāṁ śataṁ sāgram gacchāmi carituṁ vibho ||
Uḍḍa said: “O Blessed Lord, by your grace may this neck of mine become long, so that when I go out to graze, O mighty one, I may reach and take food from a distance of a hundred yojanas and more.” The request reflects a mind seeking advantage through extraordinary capacity rather than restraint, hinting at the ethical tension between contentment and unchecked appetite.
उड्ड उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical problem of seeking supernatural advantage to satisfy appetite—an implicit contrast to dharmic ideals of moderation, contentment, and disciplined desire.
A character named Uḍḍa addresses a divine figure and asks for a boon: an extraordinarily long neck, enabling him to graze and obtain food from extremely far away (a hundred yojanas and more).