Shloka 46
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
उनका रूप सूर्यके समान तेजसे प्रकाशित हो रहा था। उन्होंने धर्मके रहस्योंको सुनकर इन्द्रसे पूछा-- ।।
devadūta uvāca |
tiryagyoni-gatān sattvān martyā hiṃsanti mohitāḥ |
kīṭān pipīlikān sarpān meṣān sa-mṛga-pakṣiṇaḥ ||
神の使いは言った。「迷妄に覆われた人間は、非人の胎に生まれた生きものに暴を加える—虫、蟻、蛇、羊を殺し、さらに獣や鳥までも害する。ダルマの微妙なる秘義を聞いた今、インドラに問う。なぜ無明に支配された凡人は、かくも弱き命を傷つけるのか。」
देवदूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames violence toward animals and small creatures as a product of moha (delusion). By questioning Indra, it highlights an ethical ideal central to dharma: restraint from harming living beings (ahiṃsā) and awareness that all creatures are moral subjects within the karmic order.
A divine messenger, radiant like the sun, has heard teachings on the ‘secrets of dharma’ and then poses a pointed question to Indra: why do humans, though capable of moral understanding, still harm non-human beings—ranging from insects and ants to snakes, sheep, animals, and birds.