Shloka 29
Adhyaya 20 — Ritadhvaja’s Companionship with the Naga Princes and the Origin of the Horse Kuvalaya
धिक् तस्य जीवितं पुंसो मित्राणामुपकारिणाम् ।
प्रतीरूपमकुर्वन् यो जीवामीत्यवगच्छति ॥
dhik tasya jīvitaṃ puṃso mitrāṇām upakāriṇām | pratirūpam akurvan yo jīvāmīty avagacchati ||
¡Vergüenza para la vida de aquel hombre que, aun ayudado por sus amigos, no devuelve una retribución adecuada y, sin embargo, piensa: «Yo vivo (bien)»!
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FAQs
To accept benefit without repayment corrodes personhood; mere biological survival is not ‘living’ in the dharmic sense. Social bonds are sustained by pratyupakāra (appropriate reciprocity).
Ethical admonition (ācāra-dharma), not pañcalakṣaṇa.
The ‘fitting return’ is the balancing of energies: taking without giving creates inner debt (ṛṇa) and spiritual stagnation, even if outward life appears comfortable.