Shloka 12
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
एवमुक्त: प्रत्युवाच शृगालो वानरं तदा । ब्राह्मणस्य प्रतिश्रुत्य न मया तदुपाहृतम्
evam uktaḥ pratyuvāca śṛgālo vānaraṃ tadā | brāhmaṇasya pratiśrutya na mayā tad upāhṛtam ||
Thus addressed, the jackal replied to the monkey: “Having promised something to a Brahmin, I did not deliver it to him. Because of that breach of my pledged word, I have fallen into this sinful state of birth; and driven by that very sin, when hunger strikes, I am forced into such loathsome food.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A pledge (pratiśruti) made especially to a Brahmin should be honored; breaking one’s promised word is adharma that ripens into suffering and degraded conditions, illustrating karmic consequence and the ethical weight of truthfulness.
In a dialogue framed by Bhīṣma’s instruction, a jackal explains to a monkey that his present miserable condition is the result of having promised an item to a Brahmin and then failing to deliver it; he links his hunger and repulsive sustenance to that prior wrongdoing.