Shloka 29
Aṣṭāvakra–Bandi Vāda at Janaka’s Assembly
Numerical Cosmology and Restitution
अष्टावक्र उवाच मत्स्य: सुप्तो न निमिषत्यण्डं जातं न चोपति । अश्मनो हृदयं नास्ति नदी वेगेन वर्धते,अष्टावक्र बोले--मछली सोते समय भी आँख नहीं मूँदती, अण्डा उत्पन्न होनेपर चेष्टा नहीं करता, पत्थरके हृदय नहीं होता और नदी वेगसे बढ़ती है
aṣṭāvakra uvāca—matsyaḥ supto na nimiṣaty aṇḍaṃ jātaṃ na copati | aśmano hṛdayaṃ nāsti nadī vegena vardhate ||
Aṣṭāvakra disse: “O peixe, mesmo dormindo, não pisca; o ovo, uma vez produzido, não faz esforço algum; a pedra não tem coração; e o rio cresce pela força de sua corrente.”
अष्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses natural examples to show that different entities function according to their inherent nature—some act without conscious intention, some are inert, and some expand by momentum—so ethical judgment should be guided by discernment and context rather than a single simplistic rule.
Aṣṭāvakra is speaking in a didactic mode, offering a compact set of observations from nature (fish, egg, stone, river) as illustrative analogies to support a broader instruction about how to understand behavior and causation in the world.