Reconciliation of Action and Knowledge: Offering All Acts to Nārāyaṇa and the Hymn to the Yajña-Puruṣa
एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो व्याधः स्मितपूर्वमिदं वचः । उवाच नाहं हिंसामि पृथग्जीवं द्विजोत्तम ॥ ५.२१ ॥
etac chrutvā vaco vyādhaḥ smitapūrvam idaṃ vacaḥ | uvāca nāhaṃ hiṃsāmi pṛthagjīvaṃ dvijottama || 5.21 ||
Setelah mendengar kata-kata itu, si pemburu (vyādha) tersenyum terlebih dahulu lalu berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik di antara kaum dwija, aku tidak membunuh makhluk hidup sebagai sesuatu yang terpisah daripada diriku.”
Vyādha (the hunter)
It reflects a Purāṇic narrative technique where ethical instruction is delivered through dialogue, here framing moral reasoning (harm and non-harm) in relation to how one conceives of other beings.
No geographic location is explicitly named in this verse fragment.
The verse foregrounds a principle of restraint from harming living beings, expressed through the idea that one should not treat a living being as wholly separate—an ethical stance that supports non-violence and moral regard for others.
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