Shloka 53
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
सो<धर्म बुद्धयमानो<पि हरिष्यामि श्वजाघनीम् । अटगन् भैक्ष्यं न विन्दामि यदा युष्माकमालये
so 'dharma-buddhyamāno 'pi hariṣyāmi śvajāghanīm | aṭagan bhaikṣyaṁ na vindāmi yadā yuṣmākam ālaye ||
Хотя я и знаю, чего требует дхарма, я всё же заберу «собачье бедро» (śvajāghanī). Когда я странствую, прося подаяния, я не нахожу ничего — особенно когда прихожу к вашему жилищу.
घपच उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension: even with clear awareness of dharma, extreme deprivation and social neglect can push a person toward wrongdoing. It implicitly critiques a situation where a householder’s failure to offer alms or support contributes to ethical collapse.
The speaker declares that, despite knowing what is right, he intends to seize something/someone called “śvajāghanī,” explaining that when he goes about begging he receives nothing, particularly at the addressee’s home—suggesting desperation leading to a threatened act of taking by force.