Shloka 14
अग्निनाम-वंश-निरूपणम् | Agni-Names and Lineage Enumeration
कृषिं साध्विति मन्यन्ते तत्र हिंसा परा स्मृता । कर्षन्तो लाडूलै: पुंसो घ्नन्ति भूमिशयान् बहून् । जीवानन्यांश्व बहुशस्तत्र कि प्रतिभाति ते
kṛṣiṃ sādhv iti manyante tatra hiṃsā parā smṛtā | karṣanto lāḍūlaiḥ puṃso ghnanti bhūmiśayān bahūn | jīvān anyāṃś ca bahuśas tatra kiṃ pratibhāti te ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “People consider agriculture a virtuous livelihood; yet in it, violence is remembered as exceedingly great. For when men plough with their implements, they kill many creatures that lie upon or within the earth, and again and again destroy other living beings as well. In such a case, what appears to you as the right course?”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharma-dilemma: even socially praised livelihoods like farming can involve significant harm to living beings. It presses the listener to reflect on how to judge ‘virtue’ when unavoidable violence is embedded in ordinary human activity.
Mārkaṇḍeya challenges an assumption that agriculture is purely righteous by pointing out the hidden हिंसा involved in ploughing—killing earth-dwelling creatures and other beings—then asks what the listener considers the proper ethical conclusion.