Shloka 29
Brāhmaṇa-mahattva and Atithi-Dharma
Brahmagītā: Praise of Brāhmaṇas and norms of honor
अस्थिभूतो यदा राजा निर्मासो रुधिरस्रव: । तुलां ततः: समारूढ: स्वं मांसक्षयमुत्सूजन्
asthibhūto yadā rājā nirmāso rudhirasravaḥ | tulāṃ tataḥ samārūḍhaḥ svaṃ māṃsakṣayam utsṛjan |
Cuando el rey quedó reducido a un mero armazón de huesos—agotada su carne y manando sangre—dejó de cortar más carne y, aceptando la pérdida total de su propio cuerpo, subió él mismo a la balanza. El episodio subraya el ideal ético del sacrificio personal: el soberano elige cargar con el costo en sí mismo antes que faltar al deber de compasión y veracidad que la prueba exige.
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma expressed as radical self-giving: when compassion and truth are tested, the righteous person accepts personal suffering rather than abandon a moral commitment. The king’s willingness to offer himself embodies the priority of ethical duty over bodily attachment.
In the hawk’s narration, the king has been cutting and offering his own flesh in a weighing test. When he is reduced to bones and bleeding, he stops further cutting and instead steps onto the scale himself, offering his whole body to fulfill the demanded equivalence.