Shloka 30
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
मृगरूपधरं हत्वा मामेवं काममोहितम् । अस्य तु त्वं फल मूढ प्राप्स्यसीदूशमेव हि,परंतु जब मैं मृगरूप धारण करके कामसे मोहित था, उस अवस्थामें तुमने अत्यन्त क्रूरताके साथ मुझे मारा है; अतः मूढ़! तुम्हें अपने इस कर्मका ऐसा ही फल अवश्य मिलेगा
mṛgarūpadharaṃ hatvā mām evaṃ kāmamohitam | asya tu tvaṃ phala mūḍha prāpsyasīdṛśam eva hi ||
«Tu m’as tué alors que j’avais pris la forme d’un cerf et que le désir m’aveuglait; tu as agi avec cruauté et une imprudence insensée. Aussi, ô sot, tu recevras à coup sûr le fruit de cet acte, tel quel.»
मृग उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic retribution: violence committed in heedlessness—especially against a being in a vulnerable or deceptive form—returns upon the doer in a comparable way. Desire-born delusion (kāma-moha) clouds judgment and leads to ethically ruinous action.
A being speaking in the guise of a deer addresses the killer, declaring that although the speaker was deluded by desire while in deer-form, the killer’s act was cruel; therefore the killer is warned (as a curse/prophecy) that he will inevitably suffer an equivalent consequence for this deed.