Shloka 3
Adhyāya 122 — Śruta-vṛtta-yukta Brāhmaṇa and the Ethics of Dāna
Maitreya–Vyāsa Saṃvāda
जानामि पापै: स्वकृतैर्गतं त्वां कीट कीटताम् । अवाप्स्यसि पुनर्धर्म धर्म तु यदि मन्यसे
jānāmi pāpaiḥ svakṛtair gataṃ tvāṃ kīṭa kīṭatām | avāpsyasi punar dharma dharma tu yadi manyase ||
Vyāsa dit : «Je sais que, par les péchés que tu as commis de ta propre main, tu es tombé dans l’état d’un ver. Pourtant, tu retrouveras de nouveau le dharma — si, en vérité, tu reconnais encore le dharma et le tiens pour autorité».
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wrongdoing brings self-caused downfall (even to a degraded birth), but moral restoration remains possible if one still recognizes dharma and chooses to realign one’s conduct with it.
Vyāsa addresses someone who has fallen into a worm-like condition due to their own sins, affirming his knowledge of the cause and offering a conditional assurance: dharma can be regained if the person still accepts dharma as a guiding principle.