Shloka 45
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
न मन्ये भ्रूणहत्यापि विशिष्टा तेन कर्मणा । कृषिं साध्विति मन्यन्ते सा च वृत्ति: सुदारुणा
na manye bhrūṇahatyāpi viśiṣṭā tena karmaṇā | kṛṣiṃ sādhv iti manyante sā ca vṛttiḥ sudāruṇā ||
Tulādhāra said: “I do not regard even the killing of an embryo as more grievous than that deed. People may call agriculture a ‘good’ livelihood, yet that occupation too is exceedingly harsh.”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse challenges conventional moral rankings by stressing that harm can be embedded in socially approved occupations. Tulādhāra questions the easy labeling of certain livelihoods as ‘good’ when they involve violence or cruelty, urging ethical scrutiny of everyday actions.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Tulādhāra is speaking as a moral teacher. He is critiquing common assumptions about sin and virtue, contrasting a universally condemned act (bhrūṇahatyā) with an accepted livelihood (agriculture) to highlight hidden violence in ordinary life.