Shloka 15
Āraṇyaka-parva Adhyāya 199: Dharmavyādha on Svakarma, Vidhi, and the Limits of Ahiṃsā
अथ कदाचित् पुनरप्यहमुपस्थित: पुनरेव च रथप्रयोजनमासीत् । सम्यगयमेष भगवत इत्येवं राजाब्रवीदिति पुनरेव तृतीयं स्वस्तिवाचनं समभावयमथ राजा ब्राह्मणानां दर्शयन् मामभिप्रेक्ष्याब्रवीत् । अथो भगवता पुष्परथस्य स्वस्तिवाचनानि सुष्ठु सम्भावितानि एतेन द्रोहवचने नावतरेत्,“तदनन्तर एक दिन और मैं राजाके यहाँ उपस्थित हुआ। पुनः मेरे जानेका उद्देश्य पुष्परथको प्राप्त करना ही था। उस दिन भी राजाने बड़ी आवभगतके साथ कहा --'भगवन्! यह रथ आपका ही है।' फिर तीसरी बार मैंने उनके यहाँ जाकर स्वस्तिवाचनका कार्य सम्पन्न किया। राजाने ब्राह्मणोंको उस रथका दर्शन कराते हुए मेरी ओर देखकर कहा--“भगवन्! आपने पुष्परथके लिये अच्छे स्वस्तिवाचन किये।” (ऐसा कहकर भी उन्होंने रथ नहीं दिया।) इस (छलयुक्त) वचनसे वसुमना ही पहले स्वर्गसे पृथ्वीपर उतरेंगे”
atha kadācit punar apy aham upasthitaḥ punar eva ca rathaprayojanam āsīt | samyag ayam eṣa bhagavata ity evaṁ rājā bravīd iti punar eva tṛtīyaṁ svastivācanaṁ samabhāvayam atha rājā brāhmaṇānāṁ darśayan mām abhiprekṣyābravīt | atho bhagavatā puṣparathasya svastivācanāni suṣṭhu sambhāvitāni etena drohavacane nāvataret ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Then, on another occasion, I again came before the king; once more my purpose was to obtain the chariot. The king, with due courtesy, said, ‘Revered sir, this chariot truly belongs to you.’ Thus, for a third time I performed the auspicious benedictions. While showing the chariot to the Brahmins, the king looked at me and said, ‘Revered sir, you have performed the auspicious rites for the flower-chariot very well.’ Yet he still did not give the chariot. By such deceitful speech, Vasumanā will be the first to fall from heaven down to the earth.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical failure of making pious-sounding statements while withholding what is due. Deceitful speech—especially toward Brahmins after accepting their ritual service—undermines dharma and brings karmic downfall.
The narrator returns repeatedly to obtain the Puṣparatha. The king repeatedly acknowledges that the chariot should be his and praises the performed benedictions, but still does not hand it over. This duplicity is marked as a cause for Vasumanā’s impending fall from heaven to earth.