Shloka 3
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
गरुड उवाच भगवन् किमवज्ञानाद् वृत्ति: प्रतिहता मम । कामकारवरं दत्त्वा पुनश्नलितवानसि
garuḍa uvāca | bhagavan kim avajñānād vṛttiḥ pratihatā mama | kāmakāra-varaṃ dattvā punaś calitavān asi ||
Garuḍa said: “O Blessed Lord, why—out of disregard—have you obstructed my means of livelihood? After once granting me the boon to act according to my own will, why have you now withdrawn it and reversed your stance?”
गरुड उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when freedom or a boon is granted, it is not necessarily absolute; ethical order (dharma) can impose restraints. The verse highlights the tension between personal license (kāmakāra) and higher regulation, and questions the justice of restricting someone’s established means of living.
Garuḍa confronts the Lord he is addressing, complaining that his livelihood has been obstructed as if through contempt. He reminds the Lord that he was previously granted a boon to act as he wished, and asks why that permission is now being curtailed.