Shloka 26
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
नृशंसगुणभूयिष्ठं पुरा कर्म कृतं मया | स्मृत्वा तदनुतप्ये5हं हित्वा प्रियमिवात्मजम्
nṛśaṃsaguṇabhūyiṣṭhaṃ purā karma kṛtaṃ mayā | smṛtvā tad anutapye'haṃ hitvā priyam ivātmajam ||
नृशंसगुणभूयिष्ठं पुरा कर्म कृतं मया । स्मृत्वा तदनुतप्येऽहं हित्वा प्रियमिवात्मजम् ॥
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruel actions (nṛśaṃsa-karma) leave a lasting moral wound; true ethical awakening is marked by remembrance, remorse, and the recognition that abandoning compassion is as grievous as abandoning one’s own child.
The speaker, identified as ‘the insect’ (kīṭa), confesses that in a previous existence he performed predominantly cruel deeds. Recalling them now, he experiences intense repentance, expressed through the poignant simile of a person regretting the abandonment of a beloved son.