Shloka 16
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
भूगुरुवाच प्रत्याक्रोशेदिहाक्रुष्टस्ताडित: प्रतिताडयेत् । खादेच्च पृष्ठमांसानि यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्
bhṛgur uvāca pratyākrośed ihākr̥ṣṭas tāḍitaḥ pratitäḍayet | khādec ca pṛṣṭhamāṁsāni yas te harati puṣkaram ||
Bhṛgu dit : «S’il est insulté ici, qu’il insulte en retour ; s’il est frappé, qu’il frappe à son tour. Et que celui qui a dérobé ton lotus aille jusqu’à manger la chair du dos d’autrui — c’est-à-dire qu’il devienne le partageur des fautes mêmes qui viennent d’être énoncées.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Retaliation—returning abuse for abuse and violence for violence—draws one into the same moral fault; it is portrayed as becoming a participant in sin rather than upholding dharma.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse, a saying attributed to Bhṛgu is cited: the wrongdoer who stole a lotus is described as one who, when confronted, answers with counter-abuse and counter-violence, even to the point of extreme cruelty—an image used to underline the spiral of wrongdoing.