इत्युक्तो मतिमान्पूर्वपुण्याद्व्यासं तदोचिवान् । न मे भयं जगद्वंद्य मृत्योरस्मात्कथंचन
ityukto matimānpūrvapuṇyādvyāsaṃ tadocivān | na me bhayaṃ jagadvaṃdya mṛtyorasmātkathaṃcana
Demikian ditegur, aku—menjadi arif karena pahala masa lampau—menjawab Vyāsa: “Wahai yang dipuja segenap jagat, aku sama sekali tidak takut kepada kematian ini.”
Unspecified narrator (the insect/being replying)
Listener: Vyāsa
Scene: The insect, now composed, faces Vyāsa and ‘speaks’ with steadiness; Vyāsa listens, approving, as if recognizing the ripening of former merit into courage.
Past merit can grant clarity even in low births; the deeper fear is not death but continued downfall in saṃsāra.
The Sarasvatī-bank sacred setting continues implicitly.
None.