Shloka 28
Brāhmaṇa-mahattva and Atithi-Dharma
Brahmagītā: Praise of Brāhmaṇas and norms of honor
तानि मांसानि संच्छिद्य तुलां पूरयते5शनै: । तथापि न समस्तेन कपोतेन बभूव ह,राजा अपनी पसलियों, भुजाओं और जाँघोंसे मांस काटकर जल्दी-जल्दी तराजू भरने लगे। तथापि वह मांसराशि उस कबूतरके बराबर नहीं हुई
tāni māṁsāni saṁcchidya tulāṁ pūrayate śanaiḥ | tathāpi na samastena kapotena babhūva ha |
そうして切り取った肉片を、王はゆっくりと秤に満たそうとした。だがすべてを載せてもなお、重さは鳩に等しくならなかった。
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not measured by external quantity alone: even great bodily giving may fall short if the situation demands complete commitment to protecting one who has sought refuge. The scene highlights the supremacy of compassion, truth, and the duty of shelter (śaraṇāgati) over mere transactional offering.
In the hawk-and-pigeon episode, the king tries to compensate the hawk by placing his own flesh on a scale to match the pigeon’s weight. Despite adding more and more flesh, the scale still does not balance, intensifying the moral test of whether the king will uphold his promise to protect the pigeon.