Shloka 124
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
विश्वामित्र उवाच जीवतो वै गुरून् भृत्यान् भरन्त्वस्य परे जना: । अगतिर्षहुपुत्र: स्याद् बिसस्तैन्यं करोति यः
Viśvāmitra uvāca: jīvato vai gurūn bhṛtyān bharantv asya pare janāḥ | agatiḥ sahuputraḥ syād bisastainyaṃ karoti yaḥ ||
Viśvāmitra dit : «Que ce même péché s’abatte sur celui qui vole ces tiges de lotus — le péché de l’homme qui, de son vivant, laisse d’autres entretenir ses aînés et ses dépendants (tels ses maîtres et ses parents) ; le péché de celui qui est tombé dans une condition misérable ; et le péché de celui qui a beaucoup d’enfants et manque pourtant à son devoir.»
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns theft by equating it with grave moral failures: neglecting one’s duty to support elders and dependents (so that outsiders must do it), and living in a degraded state despite having family responsibilities. It frames dharma as active responsibility and self-restraint.
Viśvāmitra pronounces a moral imprecation: whoever stole the lotus-stalks should incur the same sin as a person who, while alive, allows others to maintain his teachers/elders and dependents—an ethical censure meant to expose the thief through the weight of dharmic guilt.