Shloka 40
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
सर्प उवाच सर्व एते हास्ववशा दण्डचक्रादयो यथा । तथाहमपि तस्मान्मे नैष दोषो मतस्तव
sarpa uvāca sarva ete hāsvavaśā daṇḍacakrādayo yathā | tathāham api tasmān me naiṣa doṣo mataḥ tava ||
सर्प उवाच—सर्व एते हास्ववशा दण्डचक्रादयो यथा । तथाहमपि तस्मान्मे नैष दोषो मतस्तव ॥
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues about moral responsibility: beings often act under forces beyond their independent control (here, ‘Death’/inevitability), so blame should be assigned carefully, distinguishing intention and autonomy from compulsion and circumstance.
In a dialogue with a hunter, the serpent defends itself against accusation, using the analogy of potter’s tools that function only under an operator’s control, claiming it too is constrained by a higher power (Death) and thus should not be condemned as solely culpable.