Shloka 5
Āraṇyaka-parva Adhyāya 199: Dharmavyādha on Svakarma, Vidhi, and the Limits of Ahiṃsā
कि कारणमित्यपृच्छतू । अथाचष्टापष्टकस्य गृहे मया उषितं स मां रथेनानुप्रावहदथापश्यमनेकानि गोसहस्राणि वर्णशो विविक्तानि तमहमपृच्छं कस्येमा गाव इति सोअ<ब्रवीत् । मया निसृष्टा इत्येतास्तेनैव स्वयं श्लाघति कथितेन । एषोडवतरेदथ त्रिभियतिव्यं साम्प्रतं कोडवतरेत्,'फिर उसने पूछा--'क्या कारण है कि अष्टक ही उतरेगा?” तब नारदजीने कहा--एक दिन मैं अष्टकके घर ही ठहरा था। उस दिन अष्टक मुझे रथपर बिठाकर भ्रमणके लिये ले जा रहे थे। मैंने रास्तेमें देखा, भिन्न-भिन्न रंगकी कई हजार गौएँ पृथक्-पृथक् चर रही हैं। उन्हें देखकर मैंने अष्टकसे पूछा--'ये किसकी गौएँ हैं।” इन्होंने उत्तर दिया--“ये मेरी दान की हुई गौएँ हैं।” इस प्रकार ये स्वयं अपने किये हुए दानका बखान करके आत्मश्लाघा करते हैं। इसीलिये इन्हें स्वर्गसे पहले उतरना पड़ेगा।” तत्पश्चात् उन लोगोंने पुनः प्रश्न किया --“यदि हम शेष तीनों भाई स्वर्गमें जाये, तो सबसे पहले किसको उतरना पड़ेगा?”
kiṃ kāraṇam ity apṛcchatū | athācāṣṭāṣṭakasya gṛhe mayā uṣitaṃ sa māṃ rathenānuprāvahad athāpaśyam anekāni go-sahasrāṇi varṇaśo viviktāni | tam aham apṛcchaṃ kasye mā gāva iti so 'bravīt | mayā nisṛṣṭā ity etās tenaiva svayaṃ ślāghati kathitena | eṣo 'vataren atha tribhya iti vyaṃ sāmprataṃ ko 'vataren ||
They asked, “What is the reason that Aṣṭaka alone will fall first?” Nārada replied: “Once I stayed in Aṣṭaka’s house. That day Aṣṭaka took me riding in his chariot for a tour. On the way I saw many thousands of cows, separated out according to their different colors, grazing apart. Seeing them, I asked Aṣṭaka, ‘Whose cows are these?’ He answered, ‘These are the cows I have given away in charity.’ By thus proclaiming his own gift, he praises himself. Therefore he must descend from heaven first.” Then they asked again, “If we three remaining brothers go to heaven, who among us will have to descend first?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even meritorious acts like charity lose their purity when accompanied by self-advertisement. Boasting about one’s gifts (svayaṃślāghā) becomes an ethical fault that diminishes heavenly merit and leads to an earlier fall from heaven.
Nārada explains why Aṣṭaka will descend from heaven first: during a chariot ride, Aṣṭaka points out thousands of cows and claims them as his donated gifts, thereby praising himself. This self-praise is cited as the reason for his earlier descent; the others then ask who among the remaining brothers would fall first.