Shloka 19
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
अहमासं मनुष्यो वै शूद्रो बहुधन: प्रभो । अब्रद्याण्यो नृशंसश्न कदर्यो वृद्धिजीवन:
aham āsaṁ manuṣyo vai śūdro bahu-dhanaḥ prabho | abrāhmaṇyo nṛśaṁsaś ca kadaryo vṛddhi-jīvanaḥ prabho ||
कीट उवाच— प्रभो, पूर्वजन्मनि अहं मनुष्यः आसीत्; शूद्रोऽपि बहुधनः। ब्राह्मणेषु मम नादरभावोऽभूत्। कदर्यो नृशंसश्च तीव्रः, वृद्ध्या जीवनं कुर्वन् व्याजवृत्त्या चोपजीवन्। तादृशाचारात् अस्मिन् नीचयोनौ पतितोऽस्मि।
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth without dharma becomes a cause of downfall: irreverence toward the worthy (especially Brāhmaṇas), cruelty, miserliness, and living by exploitative gain (interest/usury) generate negative karma that can lead to a degraded rebirth.
An insect speaks to a lordly interlocutor, confessing its former human life: though rich, it was a Śūdra who lacked respect for Brāhmaṇas and lived cruelly and greedily by usury; the confession explains the karmic reason for its present low birth.