Shloka 34
Ajagara-vrata (The ‘Python’ Discipline): Prahrāda Questions a Wandering Sage
कृतध्न: पुरुषव्याप्र मनसेदमचिन्तयत् । अयं बकपति: पाश्चे मांसराशि: स्थितो महान्,“अब मैं कौन-सा उपाय करके अपने प्राणोंको धारण कर सकूँगा?' इस प्रकारकी चिन्तामें वह मग्न हो गया। पुरुषसिंह! तदनन्तर मार्गमें भोजनके लिये कुछ भी न देखकर उस कृतघ्नने मन-ही-मन इस प्रकार विचार किया--'यह बगुलोंका राजा राजधर्मा मेरे पास ही तो है। यह मांसका एक बहुत बड़ा ढेर है। इसीको मारकर ले लूँ और शीचघ्रतापूर्वक यहाँसे चल दूँ”
bhīṣma uvāca | kṛtadhnaḥ puruṣavyāghra manasedam acintayat | ayaṃ bakapatiḥ pārśve māṃsarāśiḥ sthito mahān |
ભીષ્મ બોલ્યા—“હે પુરુષવ્યાઘ્ર! તે કૃતઘ્ને મનમાં એવો વિચાર કર્યો—‘આ બગલાઓનો રાજા મારી બાજુમાં જ છે; આ તો માંસનો મોટો ઢગલો છે.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude): when a person becomes ruled by hunger, fear, or selfish calculation, he may rationalize harming even a benefactor. Dharma requires gratitude and restraint; adharma begins when one treats a living being—especially one who has helped—as merely a ‘heap of meat’ to be exploited.
Bhishma narrates how an ‘ungrateful man,’ finding no food on the road and anxious to preserve his life, notices the king of herons nearby and mentally reduces him to a large supply of meat. He plans to kill the bird, take it as food, and leave quickly—showing a turn toward betrayal and violence driven by expediency.