Shloka 9
Adhyāya 26 — Ekākṣara-Brahman (“Om”) and the Hṛdayastha Guru
Inner Teacher
तेषां प्रद्रवमाणानामुपदेशार्थमात्मन: । सर्पाणां दंशने भाव: प्रवृत्त: पूर्वमेव तु
teṣāṃ pradravamāṇānām upadeśārtham ātmanaḥ | sarpāṇāṃ daṃśane bhāvaḥ pravṛttaḥ pūrvam eva tu ||
वे जब उस उपदेश का अर्थ अपने-अपने हित के लिए विचारने लगे, तब सबसे पहले सर्पों के भीतर दंश करने की प्रवृत्ति जाग उठी; क्योंकि एक ही वचन को सुनकर भी स्वभावानुसार मनोवृत्तियाँ भिन्न-भिन्न रूप से प्रकट होती हैं।
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same instruction can yield different outcomes because beings act according to their inherent disposition (bhāva/svabhāva). Ethical response is shaped not only by the teaching but by the listener’s inner nature.
A Brahmin narrator describes how, amid agitation and reflection on a counsel meant for their benefit, the serpents first developed the impulse to bite—illustrating how their characteristic tendency manifests immediately when they interpret the instruction.