Shloka 39
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
वालखिल्या ऊचु: एकपादेन वृत्त्यर्थ ग्रामद्वारे स तिष्ठतु धर्मज्ञस्त्यक्तधर्मास्तु यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्
vālakhilyā ūcuḥ | ekapādena vṛtty-arthaṃ grāma-dvāre sa tiṣṭhatu dharmajñas tyakta-dharmāstu yas te harati puṣkaram |
வாலகில்ய முனிவர்கள் கூறினர்—உன் தாமரையை எடுத்தவன் வாழ்வாதாரத்திற்காக கிராம வாயிலில் ஒரு காலில் நின்றுகொண்டிருக்கட்டும்; தர்மத்தை அறிந்தும் தர்மத்தைத் துறந்தவனாகட்டும்.
गालव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowing dharma yet violating it is treated as a grave ethical failure; the verse frames punishment as both bodily austerity (standing on one foot) and public disgrace (at the village gate), emphasizing accountability for theft and hypocrisy.
The Vālakhilya sages pronounce a punitive injunction/curse: the person who has taken the addressed party’s lotus should be forced into a humiliating, ascetic posture at the village entrance as a means of subsistence, marking him as one who has forsaken dharma despite understanding it.