Shloka 36
तं तु क्रुद्धमभिप्रेक्ष्य ब्रह्मवध्याभयान्नदी । अपोवाह वसिष् तु प्राचीं दिशमतन्द्रिता
taṃ tu kruddham abhiprekṣya brahmavadhyābhayān nadī | apovāha vasiṣṭhaḥ tu prācīṃ diśam atandritā ||
Seeing him enraged, the river—out of fear of the sin of Brahmin-slaying—swiftly carried Vasiṣṭha away toward the eastern direction, remaining fully alert and resolute. The episode underscores how even powerful forces recoil from actions that would incur grave adharma, and how dharmic fear (of brahmahatyā) restrains violence.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the gravity of brahmahatyā (Brahmin-slaying) as a paramount ethical transgression: even a river, personified as a moral agent, avoids becoming the instrument of such adharma and instead acts to prevent it.
Someone is seen in a state of anger; fearing the consequence of Brahmin-slaying, the river quickly carries the sage Vasiṣṭha away toward the east, protecting him and averting a grievous wrongdoing.