Shloka 124
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
विश्वामित्र उवाच जीवतो वै गुरून् भृत्यान् भरन्त्वस्य परे जना: । अगतिर्षहुपुत्र: स्याद् बिसस्तैन्यं करोति यः
Viśvāmitra uvāca: jīvato vai gurūn bhṛtyān bharantv asya pare janāḥ | agatiḥ sahuputraḥ syād bisastainyaṃ karoti yaḥ ||
Dijo Viśvāmitra: «Que ese mismo pecado recaiga sobre quien robe estos tallos del loto—el pecado del hombre que, estando aún vivo, deja que otros sostengan a sus mayores y dependientes (como sus maestros y sus padres); el pecado de quien ha caído en condición miserable; y el pecado de quien tiene muchos hijos y, aun así, falta a su deber.»
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns theft by equating it with grave moral failures: neglecting one’s duty to support elders and dependents (so that outsiders must do it), and living in a degraded state despite having family responsibilities. It frames dharma as active responsibility and self-restraint.
Viśvāmitra pronounces a moral imprecation: whoever stole the lotus-stalks should incur the same sin as a person who, while alive, allows others to maintain his teachers/elders and dependents—an ethical censure meant to expose the thief through the weight of dharmic guilt.