Shloka 40
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
सर्प उवाच सर्व एते हास्ववशा दण्डचक्रादयो यथा । तथाहमपि तस्मान्मे नैष दोषो मतस्तव,सर्पने कहा--व्याध! जैसे मिट्टीका बर्तन बनानेमें ये दण्ड-चक्र आदि सभी कारण पराधीन होते हैं, उसी प्रकार मैं भी मृत्युके अधीन हूँ। इसलिये तुमने जो मुझपर दोष लगाया है, वह ठीक नहीं है
sarpa uvāca sarva ete hāsvavaśā daṇḍacakrādayo yathā | tathāham api tasmān me naiṣa doṣo mataḥ tava ||
蛇は言った。「土の器を形づくる杖や轆轤の輪のように、これらの道具はすべて他者の支配のもとでのみ働く。私もまた死の支配のもとにある。ゆえに、そなたが私に負わせる咎は、私の見立てでは正しく私のものではない。」
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues about moral responsibility: beings often act under forces beyond their independent control (here, ‘Death’/inevitability), so blame should be assigned carefully, distinguishing intention and autonomy from compulsion and circumstance.
In a dialogue with a hunter, the serpent defends itself against accusation, using the analogy of potter’s tools that function only under an operator’s control, claiming it too is constrained by a higher power (Death) and thus should not be condemned as solely culpable.