Shloka 29
Brāhmaṇa-mahattva and Atithi-Dharma
Brahmagītā: Praise of Brāhmaṇas and norms of honor
अस्थिभूतो यदा राजा निर्मासो रुधिरस्रव: । तुलां ततः: समारूढ: स्वं मांसक्षयमुत्सूजन्
asthibhūto yadā rājā nirmāso rudhirasravaḥ | tulāṃ tataḥ samārūḍhaḥ svaṃ māṃsakṣayam utsṛjan |
Lorsque le roi fut réduit à une simple charpente d’os—sa chair épuisée et le sang s’écoulant—il cessa d’en retrancher davantage et, acceptant la perte entière de son propre corps, monta lui-même sur la balance. L’épisode met en lumière l’idéal éthique du sacrifice de soi : le souverain choisit d’en porter le prix personnellement plutôt que de faillir au devoir de compassion et de vérité qu’impose l’épreuve.
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma expressed as radical self-giving: when compassion and truth are tested, the righteous person accepts personal suffering rather than abandon a moral commitment. The king’s willingness to offer himself embodies the priority of ethical duty over bodily attachment.
In the hawk’s narration, the king has been cutting and offering his own flesh in a weighing test. When he is reduced to bones and bleeding, he stops further cutting and instead steps onto the scale himself, offering his whole body to fulfill the demanded equivalence.