Shloka 38
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
हत्वा सत्त्वानि खादन्ति तान् कथं न विगर्हसे । मानुषा मानुषानेव दासभावेन भुज्जते
hatvā sattvāni khādanti tān kathaṁ na vigarhase | mānuṣā mānuṣān eva dāsabhāvena bhuñjate ||
Tulādhāra challenges selective moral outrage: people kill living creatures and eat them—why do you not condemn them? And humans even treat other humans as slaves, consuming the fruits of their labor. If such violence and exploitation are tolerated, on what grounds is one practice singled out for blame? The verse presses an ethical critique of hypocrisy and urges consistent standards of dharma toward all beings.
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches ethical consistency: if one condemns harm in one form, one must also condemn other widespread harms—killing creatures for food and exploiting humans as slaves. Dharma requires non-violence and fairness applied without hypocrisy.
Tulādhāra is responding in a moral debate, rebuking selective condemnation. He points to common social practices—slaughtering animals and enslaving humans—to question the listener’s standards and to redirect the discussion toward broader, principled dharma.