Shloka 88
Bhīmasena–Hanūmān Saṃvāda: The Tail Test and the Divine Path
वयं धर्म न जानीमस्तिर्यग्योनिमुपाश्रिता: । नरास्तु बुद्धिसम्पन्ना दयां कुर्वन्ति जन्तुषु,हमलोग तो पशुयोनिके प्राणी हैं, अत: धर्मकी बात नहीं जानते; परंतु मनुष्य बुद्धिमान् होते हैं, अतः वे सब जीवोंपर दया करते हैं
vayaṃ dharma na jānīmas tiryagyonim upāśritāḥ | narās tu buddhisampannā dayāṃ kurvanti jantuṣu ||
We do not understand dharma, for we have taken refuge in an animal birth. But human beings, endowed with discernment, show compassion toward living creatures.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral discernment is presented as a distinctive human capacity, and with it comes the duty to practice compassion toward all living beings; lack of such discernment is associated with the limitations of animal existence.
Vaiśampāyana reports a statement voiced from the standpoint of beings in an animal condition, contrasting their claimed ignorance of dharma with the expectation that humans, being intelligent, should act mercifully toward creatures.