Shloka 19
Uttanka’s Guru-Śuśrūṣā and the Commission to Retrieve the Maṇikuṇḍalas (उत्तङ्क-गुरुशुश्रूषा तथा मणिकुण्डल-आदेशः)
कृपा हि मे सुमहती त्वां दृष्टवा तृट् समाश्रितम् । इत्युक्तस्तेन स मुनिस्तत् तोयं नाभ्यनन्दत
kṛpā hi me sumahatī tvāṁ dṛṣṭvā tṛṭ-samāśritam | ity uktas tena sa munis tat toyaṁ nābhyanandata |
Уттанка сказал: «Великая жалость поднялась во мне, когда я увидел тебя, охваченного жаждой». Но, хотя к нему и обратились так, мудрец не принял той воды: он не одобрил её и отказался взять.
उत्तडुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Compassion alone is not sufficient; one must also exercise dharmic discernment about what one accepts. The sage’s refusal highlights the ethical concern that a gift (even water) can be improper due to the giver’s identity, intention, or the circumstances, and that restraint can be a form of dharma.
A speaker expresses strong pity on seeing someone tormented by thirst and offers water. Despite the offer, the sage declines to accept it, signaling suspicion or principled refusal—an episode that often functions as a test of judgment and adherence to purity norms.