Shloka 45
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
सर्प! तेरे मतके अनुसार यदि दुष्टतापूर्ण कार्य करके भी कर्ता उस दोषसे लिप्त नहीं होता है
sarpa uvāca | kāryābhāve kriyā na syāt saty asaty api kāraṇe | tasmāt same 'smin hetau me vācyo hetur viśeṣataḥ ||
The Serpent said: “Without an effect, no action can be said to occur, even if a cause is present. Therefore, although in this matter we appear to be equally ‘causes,’ the cause that truly deserves to be singled out for blame is the one that impels and directs the deed. If you take me to be the real cause of this child’s death, you are mistaken; on reflection, it is the instigator—Death—who is culpable, for he is the agent who drives the destruction of living beings.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes mere instrumental involvement from true moral responsibility: when multiple factors seem causal, blame should be assigned especially to the decisive instigator (the one who impels the act), not automatically to the nearest instrument.
In a debate about culpability for a child’s death, the serpent argues that although he appears to be a cause, the deeper and more decisive cause is Death, portrayed as the impelling force behind the destruction of beings; thus the serpent contests being treated as the primary offender.