Shloka 12
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
वहतां सुमहाभारं संनिकर्षे स्वनं प्रभो । नृणां च संवाहयतां श्रूयते विविध: स्वन:
vahatāṃ sumahābhāraṃ saṃnikarṣe svanaṃ prabho | nṛṇāṃ ca saṃvāhayatāṃ śrūyate vividhaḥ svanaḥ ||
वहतां सुमहाभारं संनिकर्षे स्वनं प्रभो। नृणां च संवाहयतां श्रूयते विविधः स्वनः। श्रुत्वा च मनसि मे शङ्का—‘मा मां शकटो हन्यात्’ इति; तस्मात् त्वरितं पलायामि। गोपुत्राणां प्रतोद्यतां च शब्दः, श्वसतां च मम श्रूयते॥
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the smallest beings experience fear and seek safety; dharma therefore includes attentiveness and compassion so that human activity does not harm the vulnerable—whether by negligence (a cart crushing a creature) or by cruelty (whipping overburdened oxen).
The speaker, a small creature (kīṭa), tells a lord/master that it hears the nearby rumble of a heavily loaded cart and the varied shouts of the men driving it; fearing it may be crushed, it runs away, while also noting the whip striking the oxen and their labored breathing under the load.