Shloka 23
Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā
Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants
ततो मुनिजनद्वेष्टा दुष्टात्मा प्राकृतो&बुध: । ऋषिणा शरभ: शप्तस्तद्रूपं पुनराप्तवान्,महर्षिके इस प्रकार शाप देते ही वह मुनिजनद्रोही दुष्टात्मा नीच और मूर्ख शरभ फिर कुत्तेके रूपमें परिणत हो गया
tato munijanadveṣṭā duṣṭātmā prākṛto 'budhaḥ | ṛṣiṇā śarabhāḥ śaptas tad-rūpaṃ punar āptavān |
ततो मुनिजनद्वेष्टा दुष्टात्मा प्राकृतोऽबुधः । ऋषिणा शरभः शप्तस्तद्रूपं पुनराप्तवान् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hostility toward sages and contempt for spiritual discipline lead to downfall; the rishi’s curse represents moral causality (karma) that brings the offender back to an appropriate, often degraded, condition.
Bhishma narrates that Śarabha, characterized as malicious toward sages and foolish by nature, is cursed by a rishi and consequently regains a particular form—signaling an immediate punitive transformation tied to his misconduct.