Shloka 17
कर्कोटक-उपदेशः
Karkoṭaka’s Counsel and Nala’s Concealment
अपापचेतसं पापो य एवं कृतवान् नलम् | तस्माद् दुःखतरं प्राप्प जीवत्वसुखजीविकाम्,“जिस पापीने पुण्यात्मा राजा नलको इस दशामें पहुँचाया है, वह उनसे भी भारी दुःखमें पड़कर दुःखकी ही जिंदगी बितावे”
apāpacetasaṃ pāpo ya evaṃ kṛtavān nalam | tasmād duḥkhataraṃ prāpya jīvatv asukhajīvikām ||
Bṛhadaśva berkata: “Si pendosa yang telah menjatuhkan Raja Nala yang berhati suci ke keadaan ini, akibat perbuatannya akan terjerumus ke dalam penderitaan yang lebih dahsyat daripada ini, dan terus hidup—menanggung kehidupan yang tidak lain hanyalah sengsara.”
ब॒हृदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a moral law of karma: harming a virtuous, innocent-minded person leads the wrongdoer to even greater suffering, implying that ethical violations rebound upon the agent with intensified consequences.
In Bṛhadaśva’s narration of Nala’s story, he condemns the agent responsible for reducing King Nala—described as pure-minded—to a wretched state, and foretells that the perpetrator will later endure a harsher, joyless life as retribution.