Shloka 28
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
लुब्धक उवाच हत्वा लाभ: श्रेय एवाव्यय: स्या- ल्लभ्यो लाभ्य: स्याद् बलिभ्य: प्रशस्त: । कालाल्लाभो यस्तु सत्यो भवेत श्रेयोलाभ: कुत्सिते5स्मिन्न ते स््थात्
lubdhaka uvāca | hatvā lābhaḥ śreya evāvyayaḥ syāl labhyo lābhyaḥ syād balibhyaḥ praśastaḥ | kālāl lābho yas tu satyo bhavet śreyolābhaḥ kutsite 'sminn te sthāt ||
狩人は言った。「これを殺すことは利得であり、まことに尽きぬ善である。多くの者に益をもたらすからだ。強き者から力によって利を取ることは、最上の利として称えられる。時（運命）からもたらされる利こそ真の利である。この卑しき蛇を生かしておいても、あなたに善は訪れぬ。」
लुब्धक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The hunter argues that an action is justified if it produces broad welfare (killing the serpent benefits many), and he frames “true gain” as what aligns with inevitability (kāla) and practical advantage—though his reasoning also reveals a morally troubling praise of force and profit.
A hunter addresses a woman (“Devi,” implied by the Hindi gloss) and urges her to kill a serpent, claiming that sparing such a vile creature brings her no benefit, while killing it would secure an enduring good for many.