Shloka 25
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
अयज्ञीयद्रुमे देशे रुकुसिंहनिषेविते | भविता त्वं मृग: क्रूरो महादुः:खसमन्वित:
ayajñīyadrume deśe rukusiṃhaniṣevite | bhavitā tvaṃ mṛgaḥ krūro mahāduḥkhasamanvitaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Di suatu wilayah yang dipenuhi pohon-pohon yang tidak layak bagi upacara yajña, yang hanya didatangi rusa ruru dan singa, engkau akan menjadi seekor binatang liar yang kejam, dibebani penderitaan besar.” Ujaran ini menegaskan akibat moral: sesiapa yang melanggar tertib suci dan kelakuan benar akan dicampakkan ke dalam kewujudan yang hina dan menakutkan, terputus daripada lingkungan yajña dan masyarakat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic retribution framed through dharma: wrongdoing leads to loss of human dignity and exclusion from the yajña-centered moral world, symbolized by being forced into a harsh wilderness among predators and fear.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a pronouncement (a curse-like consequence): the addressed person is foretold to become a cruel wild animal and live in a forest-region considered unfit for sacrificial activity, inhabited only by ruru-deer and lions, enduring great suffering.