Shloka 31

Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

Sanskrit

षण्डः फलापहरणात् काष्ठस्य घुणकीटकः ।

पुष्पापहृद् दरिद्रश्च पङ्गुर्यानापहृन्नरः ॥

Transliteration

ṣaṇḍhaḥ phalāpaharaṇāt kāṣṭhasya ghuṇakīṭakaḥ | puṣpāpahṛd daridraś ca paṅgur yānāpahṛn naraḥ

Translation

En volant des fruits, on devient ṣaṇḍha (eunuque ou impuissant). En volant du bois, on devient ghuṇakīṭa (insecte qui fore le bois). Le voleur de fleurs devient pauvre; et l’homme qui vole un véhicule devient boiteux.

Word by Word

• ṣaṇḍhaḥ: a eunuch/impotent man
• ṣaṇḍhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resultant form)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṇḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• phala-apaharaṇāt: from/for stealing fruit
• phala-apaharaṇāt: Hetu (हेतु; कारण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + apaharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘phalasya apaharaṇam’; ablative of cause (हेतु)

• kāṣṭhasya: of wood
• kāṣṭhasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• ghuṇa-kīṭakaḥ: a wood-boring worm (ghuṇa-insect)
• ghuṇa-kīṭakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resultant form)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghuṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kīṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; karmadhāraya (a worm/insect that is a ghuṇa)

• puṣpa-apahṛt: one who steals flowers
• puṣpa-apahṛt: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + apahṛt (कृदन्त; apa-√hṛ + kta)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘puṣpaṃ apahṛtavān’

• daridraḥ: poor/poverty-stricken
• daridraḥ: Karta (कर्ता; resultant state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daridra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used substantively

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• paṅgu-ryāna-apahṛt-naraḥ: a man who steals a conveyance (of a cripple)
• paṅgu-ryāna-apahṛt-naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṅgu (प्रातिपदिक) + ryāna/yāna (प्रातिपदिक) + apahṛt (कृदन्त; apa-√hṛ + kta) + nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘paṅguryānaṃ apahṛtavān naraḥ’ (one who stole a lame-man’s conveyance / a conveyance)

Speakers

• Not specified in input

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "dharma", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karma
• Social ethics
• Recompense

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Theft damages the thief’s own capacities: prosperity, mobility, and even generativity are depicted as karmically diminished. The verse also reflects a social ethic: do not disrupt others’ sustenance (fruit), shelter/material (wood), worship/celebration (flowers), or movement (vehicles).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Dharma/karma-vipāka instruction; not pañcalakṣaṇa.

What is the esoteric significance?

Fruit symbolizes results of action; stealing it implies stealing others’ karmaphala, leading to loss of one’s own ‘fruitfulness’ (ṣaṇḍhatā). Vehicle symbolizes life-path; stealing it yields impaired progress (lameness).