Shloka 16
धर्मव्याधोपदेशः
Dharma-vyādha’s Instruction on Śiṣṭācāra and Dharma
श्येन उवाच नोक्षाणं राजन् प्रार्थयेयं न चान्य- दस्मान्मांसमधिकं वा कपोतात् | देवैर्दत्त: सोउद्य ममैष भक्ष- स्तन्मे ददस्व शकुनानामभावात्,बाज बोला--राजन! मैं आपसे ऋषभकन्द नहीं माँगता और न मुझे इस कबूतरसे अधिक कोई दूसरा मांस ही चाहिये। आज दूसरे पक्षियोंके अभावमें यह कबूतर ही मेरे लिये देवताओंका दिया हुआ भोजन है। अतः यही मेरा आहार होगा। इसे ही मुझे दे दीजिये
śyena uvāca | nokṣāṇaṃ rājan prārthayeyam na cānya-d asmān māṃsam adhikaṃ vā kapotāt | devair dattaḥ so 'dya mama eṣa bhakṣas tan me dadasva śakunānām abhāvāt ||
O falcão disse: “Ó rei, não te peço um boi, nem desejo outra carne maior do que este pombo. Hoje, na falta de outras aves, este pombo é o alimento que os deuses me concederam. Portanto, esta é a minha refeição de direito — entrega-mo.”
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic conflict: the king’s duty to protect the weak (the pigeon seeking refuge) meets the predator’s claim to its natural, divinely allotted sustenance. It highlights that ethical judgment must weigh competing rights and duties rather than a single absolute rule.
A hawk addresses the king, rejecting larger substitutes like an ox and insisting on the pigeon as its rightful prey. The hawk argues that, since no other birds are available, the pigeon is the gods’ provision for its meal and should be handed over.