Shloka 37
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
ये च च्छिन्दन्ति वृषणान् ये च भिन्दन्ति नस्तकान् | वहन्ति महतो भारान् बध्नन्ति दमयन्ति च
ye ca cchindanti vṛṣaṇān ye ca bhindanti nastakān | vahanti mahato bhārān badhnanti damayanti ca ||
Tulādhāra berkata: “Dan mereka yang mengebiri lembu jantan, yang menebuk hidungnya, yang memaksa mereka memikul beban berat, yang mengikat dan menundukkan mereka untuk diperah tenaganya—mengapa engkau tidak mengecam mereka? Demikian juga mereka yang membunuh dan memakan banyak makhluk bernyawa, dan mereka yang, walaupun manusia, memperhambakan manusia lain serta menikmati hasil jerih payah mereka—mengapa mereka tidak menjadi sasaran celaanmu?”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tulādhāra presses for moral consistency: if one condemns certain forms of harm, one must also recognize and condemn socially normalized harms—cruelty to animals through mutilation and forced labor, killing for food, and human exploitation through enslavement and appropriation of others’ labor.
In the Tulādhāra episode of Śānti Parva, Tulādhāra responds to a moral critic by pointing to everyday, accepted practices of violence and domination. He challenges selective outrage and redirects the discussion toward a broader, more impartial standard of dharma grounded in non-injury and fairness.