Shloka 6
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
एतसस्मिंस्तु तथाभूते नान्यं हिंसितुमुत्सहे । क्रीडसे कामकारेण देवराज यथेच्छकम्
etasmim̐s tu tathābhūte nānyaṃ hiṃsitum utsahe | krīḍase kāmakāreṇa devarāja yathecchakam ||
Garuḍa said: “Now that matters have come to this pass, I cannot bring myself to harm anyone else in his place. O king of the gods, you act by mere whim—playing as you please, without restraint.”
गरुड उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when provoked or wronged, substituting one victim for another is ethically unacceptable; moral responsibility requires refusing unjust harm, and power exercised by mere whim is criticized.
Garuda addresses Indra, declaring that given the present circumstances he will not harm some other being as a substitute, and he reproaches Indra for acting capriciously—treating events like a game.