Shloka 27
Ajagara-vrata (The ‘Python’ Discipline): Prahrāda Questions a Wandering Sage
ततः प्रदुद्रुवु: सर्वे विप्रसंघा: समनन््ततः । गौतमो<पि सुवर्णस्य भारमादाय सत्वर:
tataḥ pradudruvuḥ sarve viprasaṅghāḥ samanantataḥ | gautamo ’pi suvarṇasya bhāram ādāya satvaraḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Alors toutes les troupes de brahmanes s’enfuirent de tous côtés. Gautama aussi, saisissant à la hâte le lourd fardeau d’or, se hâta ; accablé et tendu sous le poids, il se dirigea vers le banian. Parvenu là, il s’assit, épuisé—tourmenté par la faim et brisé de fatigue.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to wealth and the pressure of fear can overwhelm discernment: even those expected to embody restraint may act impulsively, and the very burden of greed becomes a cause of suffering (fatigue, hunger, distress).
After a triggering event (implied by 'thereupon'), the brāhmaṇas scatter and flee in all directions. Gautama also rushes off carrying a heavy load of gold, hurrying toward a banyan tree; upon reaching it he sits down, exhausted and hungry.