Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
पशुसख उवाच दास एव प्रजायेतामप्रसूतिरकिंचन: । दैवतेष्वनमस्कारो बिसस्तैन्यं करोति यः
paśusakha uvāca dāsa eva prajāyetām aprasūtir akiñcanaḥ | daivateṣv ananamaskāro bisastainyaṃ karoti yaḥ ||
Paśusakha berkata: “Sesiapa yang mencuri serabut teratai (bisā) akan lahir semula hanya di rumah seorang hamba perempuan, menjadi tidak beranak dan papa kedana, serta menanggung dosa kerana tidak memberi sembah kepada para dewa.”
पशुसख उवाच
Even seemingly minor theft (here, lotus-fibres) is treated as a serious breach of dharma, bringing karmic consequences such as low birth, poverty, and childlessness; additionally, neglecting reverence to the deities is framed as a separate moral fault.
In a didactic context within the Anuśāsana Parva, the speaker Paśusakha states a rule of karmic retribution: the act of stealing lotus-fibres leads to adverse rebirth and life conditions, and the offender is also marked by the sin of not offering salutations to the gods.