Shloka 19
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
अहमासं मनुष्यो वै शूद्रो बहुधन: प्रभो । अब्रद्याण्यो नृशंसश्न कदर्यो वृद्धिजीवन:
aham āsaṁ manuṣyo vai śūdro bahu-dhanaḥ prabho | abrāhmaṇyo nṛśaṁsaś ca kadaryo vṛddhi-jīvanaḥ prabho ||
कीटक म्हणाला— प्रभो! पूर्वजन्मी मी मनुष्य होतो—आणि तोही अतिशय धनवान शूद्र. ब्राह्मणांविषयी माझ्या मनात आदरभाव नव्हता. मी कंजूष, क्रूर, निर्दय आणि व्याजावर जगणारा होतो. अशा आचरणामुळेच मी या नीच अवस्थेला येऊन पडलो आहे.
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth without dharma becomes a cause of downfall: irreverence toward the worthy (especially Brāhmaṇas), cruelty, miserliness, and living by exploitative gain (interest/usury) generate negative karma that can lead to a degraded rebirth.
An insect speaks to a lordly interlocutor, confessing its former human life: though rich, it was a Śūdra who lacked respect for Brāhmaṇas and lived cruelly and greedily by usury; the confession explains the karmic reason for its present low birth.