Shloka 11
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
धनैश्वर्याधिका: स्तब्धास्त्वद्गुणै: परमावरा: । अवजानन्ति नून॑ त्वां तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
dhanaiśvaryādhikāḥ stabdhās tvad-guṇaiḥ paramāvarāḥ | avajānanti nūnaṁ tvāṁ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
婆羅門は言った。「財と世の権勢では汝に勝りながら、徳においては汝よりはるかに劣る者どもは、驕り高ぶる。彼らはきっと常に汝を侮るのだ。その絶えざる侮蔑ゆえに、汝は――鹿よ――痩せ衰え、青白くなった。」
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Material superiority (wealth and power) often breeds arrogance, leading people to disrespect those who are morally superior; the verse critiques valuing status over virtue and highlights the harm caused by contempt.
A brāhmaṇa addresses a deer, observing that people who are richer and more powerful—though inferior in character—regularly insult it, and he links this ongoing neglect and humiliation to the deer’s weakened condition.