Shloka 39
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
वालखिल्या ऊचु: एकपादेन वृत्त्यर्थ ग्रामद्वारे स तिष्ठतु धर्मज्ञस्त्यक्तधर्मास्तु यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्
vālakhilyā ūcuḥ | ekapādena vṛtty-arthaṃ grāma-dvāre sa tiṣṭhatu dharmajñas tyakta-dharmāstu yas te harati puṣkaram |
Les sages Vālakhilya dirent : «Que celui qui t’a pris ton lotus se tienne, pour gagner sa vie, à la porte du village, debout sur un seul pied ; et bien qu’il connaisse le dharma, qu’il soit de ceux qui l’ont abandonné.»
गालव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowing dharma yet violating it is treated as a grave ethical failure; the verse frames punishment as both bodily austerity (standing on one foot) and public disgrace (at the village gate), emphasizing accountability for theft and hypocrisy.
The Vālakhilya sages pronounce a punitive injunction/curse: the person who has taken the addressed party’s lotus should be forced into a humiliating, ascetic posture at the village entrance as a means of subsistence, marking him as one who has forsaken dharma despite understanding it.