Shloka 21
Purohita-Niyoga and the Brahma–Kṣatra Concord
Aila–Kaśyapa Saṃvāda
कश्यप उवाच यथैकगेहे जातवेदा: प्रदीप्त: कृत्स्नं ग्रामं दहते चत्वरं वा । विमोहनं कुरुते देव एष ततः सर्व स्पृश्यते पुण्यपापै:
kaśyapa uvāca | yathaikagehe jātavedāḥ pradīptaḥ kṛtsnaṃ grāmaṃ dahate catvaraṃ vā | vimohanaṃ kurute deva eṣa tataḥ sarvaṃ spṛśyate puṇyapāpaiḥ ||
Kashyapa berkata: “Sebagaimana api yang menyala di satu rumah dapat membakar seluruh desa atau bahkan alun-alun, demikian pula dewa ini (Rudra), ketika menampakkan diri dengan daya khusus dalam satu makhluk, menebarkan kemabukan batin ke dalam pikiran orang lain. Setelah itu seluruh dunia pun tersentuh dan terjerat oleh pahala dan dosa.”
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
Delusion can spread from a single locus—like fire from one house—so that many become implicated in moral consequences; once minds are clouded, the world becomes enmeshed in puṇya and pāpa through actions born of that moha.
Kashyapa uses a vivid fire analogy to explain how a divine force identified with Rudra, arising powerfully in one being, can bewilder others too; this shared bewilderment leads to widespread moral entanglement and the accrual of merit and sin.