Shloka 27
Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit
कूपे55त्मानमध:शीर्षमपश्यं पतितश्न ह | तिर्यग्योनिमनुप्राप्तं न च मामजहात् स्मृति:
kūpe ’tmānam adhaḥśīrṣam apaśyaṁ patitaś ca ha | tiryagyoniṁ anuprāptaṁ na ca mām ajahāt smṛtiḥ ||
Quand je tombai dans un puits, je me vis la tête en bas. J’étais parvenu à une naissance non humaine (un corps de lézard), et pourtant la mémoire ne m’abandonna pas, même en cet état.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one falls into a degraded condition due to karma (tiryagyoni), moral awareness and memory can persist; this highlights accountability for actions and the possibility of inner awakening that supports a return to dharma.
A Brahmin narrator describes falling into a well and finding himself reborn/embodied in a non-human form with his head downward, yet retaining memory—setting up a reflection on how karma operates and how consciousness can endure across conditions.