Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 31
मृगाभिशापान्नष्टं मे जननं हाकृतात्मन: । नृशंसकारिणो भीरु यथैवोपहतं पुरा
mṛgābhiśāpān naṣṭaṃ me jananaṃ hākṛtātmanaḥ | nṛśaṃsakāriṇo bhīru yathaivopahataṃ purā ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Par la malédiction du cerf, mon pouvoir d’engendrer une descendance a été détruit. Je ne suis pas maître de moi-même ; j’ai agi avec cruauté. Ô toi qui es craintive, ainsi ma puissance génératrice a été frappée—comme jadis j’ai frappé ce cerf, en le tuant et en entravant son accouplement.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruel, uncontrolled action (especially violence that disrupts another being’s natural life) rebounds upon the agent: the harm inflicted returns as a corresponding impairment, illustrating karmic retribution and the need for self-mastery (ātma-saṃyama).
A speaker explains that a deer’s curse has destroyed his ability to beget children. He confesses his lack of self-control and cruelty, and frames the loss as a fitting consequence—mirroring how he earlier killed the deer and obstructed its mating.