Shloka 18
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
इस प्रकार वहाँ अत्यन्त दुष्कर तपस्या करती हुई मृत्युसे महातेजस्वी ब्रह्माजीने पुनः जाकर इस प्रकार कहा-- ।। कुरुष्व मे वचो मृत्यो तदनादृत्य सत्वरा । तथैवैकपदे तात पुनरन्यानि सप्त सा
iti prakāraṁ tatra atyanta-duṣkaraṁ tapasyaṁ kurvatīṁ mṛtyuṁ mahā-tejasvī brahmā punar gatvā evaṁ uvāca— kurūṣva me vaco mṛtyo, tad anādṛtya satvarā; tathaiva eka-pade tāta, punar anyāni sapta sā.
Tatkala Maut terus berada di sana, menjalani tapa yang amat sukar, Brahmā yang bercahaya gemilang kembali lalu bersabda sekali lagi: “Wahai Maut, laksanakan perintahku. Jangan engkau mengabaikannya dan bertindak tergesa-gesa. Wahai anak, tetaplah seperti sediakala pada satu kedudukanmu; kemudian dia pun sekali lagi memikul tujuh kedudukan/peranan yang lain.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the force of Death must operate under dharma and the creator’s ordinance; power should not act from haste or disregard of rightful command. Tapas and authority are framed as instruments to align action with cosmic order rather than personal impulse.
Death is depicted as undertaking extremely difficult austerities. Brahmā returns and reiterates his directive: Death should fulfill his command, not act hastily or dismiss it, and remain in an assigned station while proceeding through a structured set of roles (alluded to as ‘the other seven’).