Shloka 10
Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra
प्रमृते मयि धर्मात्मन् पुत्रदारादि नड्क्ष्यति | रक्षमाण: कपोतं त्वं बहून् प्राणान् न रक्षसि,प्रजानाथ! आज आपने मुझे भोजनसे वंचित कर दिया है, इसलिये मेरे प्राण इस शरीरको छोड़कर अकुतोभय-पथ ([मृत्यु)-को प्राप्त हो जायँगे। धर्मात्मन्! इस प्रकार मेरी मृत्यु हो जानेपर मेरे स्त्री-पुत्र आदि भी (असहाय होनेके कारण) नष्ट हो जायँगे। इस तरह आप एक कबूतरकी रक्षा करके बहुत-से प्राणियोंकी रक्षा नहीं कर रहे हैं
pramṛte mayi dharmātman putradārādi naṅkṣyati | rakṣamāṇaḥ kapotaṃ tvaṃ bahūn prāṇān na rakṣasi, prajānātha |
Disse o falcão: “Ó justo, se eu morrer, minha esposa, meus filhos e meus dependentes também perecerão. Senhor das criaturas, ao proteger esta única pomba, não proteges muitas vidas. Pois hoje me privaste do meu alimento, e meu sopro vital deixará este corpo e seguirá o caminho da morte.”
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-conflict: compassion toward a refugee (the pigeon) versus responsibility toward other dependents (the hawk’s family). It highlights that ethical choices can have cascading consequences, and that ‘protecting’ must consider all lives affected, not only the most visible victim.
A hawk argues with a righteous protector who has given asylum to a pigeon. The hawk claims that being denied its prey deprives it of food, leading to its death and the ruin of its wife and children; thus, saving the pigeon may indirectly cause multiple deaths.