Shloka 66
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
मृत्युने कहा--व्याध! हम दोनों कालके अधीन होनेके कारण विवश हैं। हम तो केवल उसके आदेशका पालनमात्र करते हैं। यदि तुम अच्छी तरह विचार करोगे तो हमलोगोंपर दोषारोपण नहीं करोगे ।।
lubdhaka uvāca | yuvām ubhī kālavaśau yadi me mṛtyupannagau | harṣakrodhau yathā syātām etad icchāmi veditum ||
狩人は言った。「おお死よ、おお蛇よ。もし汝ら二者がカーラ（時・宿命）の強制のもとに働くのなら、我はこれを知りたい。なぜ他者に益をなす者には我が心に歓喜が起こり、害をもたらす汝ら二者には怒りが起こるのか。万事が時の法に縛られているなら、いかなる根拠によって賞賛と非難、喜びと怨みがなお心を捉えるのか。」
लुब्धक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises the ethical problem of responsibility under determinism: even if agents like Death and the Serpent act under Kāla’s command, human beings still experience praise/blame through emotions like joy and anger. It invites reflection on how moral judgment operates when actions are seen as compelled by Time.
The hunter addresses Death and the Serpent directly. After hearing that they merely follow Kāla’s ordinance, he questions why he nonetheless feels happiness toward benefactors and anger toward harmful agents—seeking a principled explanation for these reactions if all are under Time’s control.