Shloka 54
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
गौतम उवाच रथन्तरं यत्र बृहच्च गीयते यत्र वेदी पुण्डरीकैस्तृणोति । यत्रोपयाति हरिभि: सोमपीथी तत्र त्वाहं हस्तिनं यातयिष्ये
gautama uvāca | rathantaraṃ yatra bṛhacca gīyate yatra vedī puṇḍarīkais tṛṇoti | yatro payāti haribhiḥ somapīthī tatra tvāhaṃ hastinaṃ yātayiṣye ||
Gautama berkata: “Ke alam tempat Rathantara dan Bṛhat sāman dilagukan; tempat altar korban ditabur dan diselubungi teratai putih; dan tempat peminum Soma mengembara ditanggung kuda-kuda ilahi—ke sanalah aku akan pergi, dan di sanalah aku akan memaksa engkau memulangkan gajahku.”
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores dharma as enforceable moral order: sacred merit and heavenly imagery do not exempt one from restitution. Gautama invokes the highest ritual-heavenly sphere to assert that a wrong (withholding another’s property) must be set right.
Gautama declares that he will pursue the other party even to the exalted realm associated with Sāma-vedic chants and Soma-drinkers, and there compel the return of his elephant—an emphatic vow of recovery and justice.