Shloka 16
Ālasyadoṣa-nirdeśa (On the Fault of Negligence) — The Camel’s Long-Neck Exemplum
एवं दुर्बुद्धिना प्राप्तमुष्टेण निधनं तदा । आलस्यस्य क्रमात् पश्य महान्तं दोषमागतम्
evaṁ durbuddhinā prāptamuṣṭeṇa nidhanaṁ tadā | ālasyasya kramāt paśya mahāntaṁ doṣam āgatam ||
इस प्रकार उस ऊँट ने दुर्बुद्धि से मुट्ठी-भर कारण से ही अपना विनाश बुला लिया। देखो, आलस्य के क्रम से कैसे महान दोष उत्पन्न होकर अंततः विनाश बन जाता है।
उड्ड उवाच
Educational Q&A
Negligence and laziness are not minor flaws: they progress step by step into major moral failure, and when joined with foolish judgment (durbuddhi), they can culminate in sudden catastrophe—even death from something as small as a fist-blow.
Uḍḍa draws a moral from an example just cited: due to foolish conduct, a person meets death through a simple fist. He uses this to warn the listener to observe how laziness gradually breeds serious faults and disastrous outcomes.