Shloka 39
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
वधबन्धनिरोधेन कारयन्ति दिवानिशम् | आत्मनश्लापि जानाति यद् दुःखं वधबन्धने
vadhabandhanirodhena kārayanti divāniśam | ātmanaś cāpi jānāti yad duḥkhaṃ vadhabandhane |
Tulādhāra said: “People know from their own experience how painful killing and captivity are; yet they still subject others to slaughter, bondage, and imprisonment, forcing them to labor day and night. Why do you not condemn them?”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should apply moral judgment consistently: if one recognizes suffering in oneself, it is unethical to inflict the same suffering on others through killing, bondage, or imprisonment, especially for exploitation.
Tulādhāra challenges his interlocutor’s moral focus, pointing out that people who understand the pain of violence and captivity still impose it on others and force them to work relentlessly; he asks why such perpetrators are not condemned.