Adhyāya 122 — Śruta-vṛtta-yukta Brāhmaṇa and the Ethics of Dāna
Maitreya–Vyāsa Saṃvāda
जानामि पापै: स्वकृतैर्गतं त्वां कीट कीटताम् । अवाप्स्यसि पुनर्धर्म धर्म तु यदि मन्यसे
jānāmi pāpaiḥ svakṛtair gataṃ tvāṃ kīṭa kīṭatām | avāpsyasi punar dharma dharma tu yadi manyase ||
ວະຍາສະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຮູ້ວ່າ ເນື່ອງຈາກບາບທີ່ເຈົ້າເຮັດເອງ ເຈົ້າຈຶ່ງຕົກລົງໄປສູ່ສະພາບເປັນໜອນ. ແຕ່ເຈົ້າຈະໄດ້ຮັບທຳມະຄືນອີກ—ຖ້າແທ້ໆແລ້ວ ເຈົ້າຍັງຍອມຮັບທຳມະ ແລະເຫັນວ່າທຳມະເປັນຫຼັກອຳນາດ».
व्यास उवाच
Wrongdoing brings self-caused downfall (even to a degraded birth), but moral restoration remains possible if one still recognizes dharma and chooses to realign one’s conduct with it.
Vyāsa addresses someone who has fallen into a worm-like condition due to their own sins, affirming his knowledge of the cause and offering a conditional assurance: dharma can be regained if the person still accepts dharma as a guiding principle.