Shloka 8
Sāvitrī-Upākhyāna: Dyumatsena’s Restoration and the Return to Kāmyaka
Conclusion
कृतघ्नं तमहं मन््ये वानरापसदं भुवि । यो मामेवंगतो मूढो न जानीतेडद्य लक्ष्मण,'सुमित्रानन्दन! मैं तो उस नीच वानरको इस भूतलपर कृतधघ्न मानता हूँ, क्योंकि वह मूर्ख इस अवस्थामें पहुँचकर मुझे भूल गया है
kṛtaghnaṃ tam ahaṃ manye vānarāpasadaṃ bhuvi | yo mām evaṃgato mūḍho na jānīte ’dya lakṣmaṇa ||
“I deem him a thankless wretch, the lowest of monkeys upon this earth—because that deluded one, having fallen into such a state, does not recognize me today, O Lakṣmaṇa.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude). Forgetting or failing to recognize one’s benefactor/elder—especially after receiving help—is portrayed as a serious ethical failing and a mark of degraded character.
Mārkaṇḍeya speaks in reproach, calling someone a ‘lowest of monkeys’ and ‘ungrateful’ because, having reached a pitiable or altered condition, that person no longer recognizes him, and he addresses Lakṣmaṇa directly while making this accusation.