Shloka 20
Adhyāya 208: Aṅgirasī-kanyāḥ
Enumeration of Aṅgiras’ daughters and attribute-names
व्याध उवाच कुलोचितमिदं कर्म पितृपैतामहं परम् । वर्तमानस्य मे धर्मे स्वे मन््युं मा कृथा द्विज,व्याध बोला--ब्रह्मन! यह काम मेरे बाप-दादोंके समयसे होता चला आ रहा है। मेरे कुलके लिये जो उचित है वही धंधा मैंने भी अपनाया है। मैं अपने धर्मका ही पालन कर रहा हूँ; अत: आप मुझपर क्रोध न करें
vyādha uvāca: kulocitam idaṁ karma pitṛpaitāmahaṁ param | vartamānasya me dharme sve manyuṁ mā kṛthā dvija ||
The hunter said, “This work is proper to my lineage, handed down from my father and grandfather as a long-established tradition. I am living within my own dharma and following the duty that falls to me; therefore, O brahmin, do not be angry with me.”
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues for understanding a person through the lens of svadharma—one’s inherited and socially situated duty—rather than reacting with anger. It frames ethical evaluation as contextual: the hunter claims he is not acting out of malice but fulfilling the role assigned by lineage and livelihood.
In a dialogue where a brahmin confronts a hunter about his profession, the hunter responds defensively yet respectfully. He explains that his work is ancestral and appropriate to his family, and he asks the brahmin not to be angry because he is simply adhering to his own dharma.