Shloka 8
आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च
Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha
वेदोच्चारणकार्यार्थमयुक्त तत् त्वया कृतम् तव शोकेन वृद्धौ तावन्धी भूती तपस्विनौ
vedoccāraṇakāryārtham ayukta tat tvayā kṛtam | tava śokena vṛddhau tāv andhī bhūtī tapasvinau ||
The hunter said: “What you have done is improper. You left for the sake of Vedic recitation and ritual duty, yet because of your grief and neglect those two aged ascetics have become blind—reduced to helplessness.”
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual or Vedic observance is not a license to neglect immediate moral obligations; dharma includes caring for the dependent and vulnerable, and grief-driven negligence can become a form of harm.
The hunter rebukes the interlocutor for an action done under the pretext of Vedic recitation; he points out that, due to the person’s sorrow and resulting neglect, two elderly ascetics have been left effectively ‘blind’—helpless and uncared for.