Adhyāya 136: Yavakrī–Bharadvāja Saṃvāda and the Bāladhī–Dhanuṣākṣa Gāthā
Arrogance, Boons, and Nimitta
भरद्वाज उवाच दर्पस्ते भविता तात वरॉल्लब्ध्वा यथेप्सितान् । स दर्पपूर्ण: कृपण: क्षिप्रमेव विनड्क्ष्यसि,भरद्वाज बोले--तात! इस तरह मनोवाञ्छित वर प्राप्त करनेके कारण तुम्हारे मनमें अहंकार उत्पन्न हो जायगा और अहंकारसे युक्त होनेपर तुम कृपण होकर शीघ्र ही नष्ट हो जाओगे
bharadvāja uvāca | darpas te bhavitā tāta varāl labdhvā yathepsitān | sa darpapūrṇaḥ kṛpaṇaḥ kṣipram eva vinaṅkṣyasi ||
Bharadvāja dijo: «Hijo mío, cuando obtengas del don cuanto deseas, nacerá en ti el orgullo. Lleno de ese orgullo, te volverás mezquino y pronto caerás en la ruina.»
भरद्वाज उवाच
Even legitimately gained power or fulfillment (such as a boon) can breed pride; pride then corrodes character into pettiness and leads swiftly to downfall. The verse warns that inner discipline matters more than external attainments.
The sage Bharadvāja addresses a younger person as “tāta” and cautions him: if he receives his wished-for boons, he will become arrogant, then morally small-minded, and will soon be ruined—an admonition against the misuse of extraordinary gifts.