Shloka 12
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
वहतां सुमहाभारं संनिकर्षे स्वनं प्रभो । नृणां च संवाहयतां श्रूयते विविध: स्वन:
vahatāṃ sumahābhāraṃ saṃnikarṣe svanaṃ prabho | nṛṇāṃ ca saṃvāhayatāṃ śrūyate vividhaḥ svanaḥ ||
“Wahai tuanku, aku mendengar dari dekat bunyi gegar pedati yang membawa beban amat berat. Aku juga mendengar pelbagai jerit dan seruan orang yang mengiring dan memacunya. Apabila bunyi demikian jatuh ke telingaku, aku disergap takut pedati itu akan datang menghimpit dan menghancurkan aku; sebab itu aku melarikan diri dengan segera. Lihatlah—bunyi cemeti memukul lembu, dan mereka datang ke sini, tercungap-cungap di bawah beban besar.”
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the smallest beings experience fear and seek safety; dharma therefore includes attentiveness and compassion so that human activity does not harm the vulnerable—whether by negligence (a cart crushing a creature) or by cruelty (whipping overburdened oxen).
The speaker, a small creature (kīṭa), tells a lord/master that it hears the nearby rumble of a heavily loaded cart and the varied shouts of the men driving it; fearing it may be crushed, it runs away, while also noting the whip striking the oxen and their labored breathing under the load.