Shloka 7
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
ब्रह्मभूतश्चरन् विप्र: कृष्णद्वैपायन: पुरा । ददर्श कीटं धावन्तं शीघ्रं शकटवर्त्मनि,पहलेकी बात है, ब्रह्मस्वरूप श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायन विप्रवर व्यासजी कहीं जा रहे थे। उन्होंने एक कीड़ेको गाड़ीकी लीकसे बड़ी तेजीके साथ भागते देखा
brahmabhūtaś caran vipraḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaḥ purā | dadarśa kīṭaṃ dhāvantaṃ śīghraṃ śakaṭavartmani ||
ビーシュマは言った。「昔、梵の境地に安住して遍歴していた婆羅門クリシュナ・ドヴァイパーヤナ（ヴィヤーサ）は、車の轍に沿って小さな虫が素早く走るのを見た。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse initiates an ethical lesson grounded in compassion and non-injury: a realized sage notices even a tiny creature’s urgent effort to preserve its life, suggesting that dharma includes attentiveness to and protection of vulnerable beings.
Bhīṣma recounts an old episode: Vyāsa, while traveling, observes an insect running quickly along a cart’s track. This observation serves as the opening image for a moral exemplum that follows.