Mahabharata 1.10.4 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 10, Shloka 4
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 10: Ruru’s Vow and Ḍuṇḍubha’s Appeal (रुरोः प्रतिज्ञा—डुण्डुभोपदेशः)
रुरुके दर्शनसे सहस्रपाद ऋषिकी सर्पयोनिसे मुक्ति एकानर्थान् पृथगर्थनिकदुःखान् पृथक्सुखान् । डुण्डुभान् धर्मविद् भूत्वा न त्वं हिंसितुमहसि
Ḍuṇḍrubha uvāca: ruru-ke darśanase sahasrapāda ṛṣikī sarpayonise mukti ekānarthān pṛthag-arthanikaduḥkhān pṛthaksukhān. ḍuṇḍubhān dharmavid bhūtvā na tvaṃ hiṃsitum arhasi; aho āścaryam—becāre ḍuṇḍubha anartha-bhoga-ne meṃ sab sarpoṃ ke sātha eka haiṃ; parantu unakā svabhāva dūsare sarpoṃ se bhinna hai tathā duḥkha-bhoga-ne meṃ to ve sab sarpoṃ ke sātha eka haiṃ; kintu sukha sabkā alag-alag hai. tuma dharmajña ho, ataḥ tumheṃ ḍuṇḍubhoṃ kī hiṃsā nahīṃ karnī cāhiye.
Ḍuṇḍrubha said: “O Ruru, though we share the same serpent-birth and are bound together in suffering and misfortune, each creature’s nature differs, and whatever happiness comes is experienced separately. Since you are one who knows dharma, you should not commit violence against the ḍuṇḍubhas. How strange it is—wretched as we are, we are united in calamity, yet not in joy.”
डुण्ड्रुभ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges restraint from violence (ahiṃsā) on the basis of dharma: even when beings seem blameworthy or belong to a feared group, a dharma-knower should not harm them, recognizing the complexity of shared suffering and individual experience.
Ḍuṇḍrubha addresses Ruru and argues against harming the ḍuṇḍubhas, pointing out that beings of serpent-birth are collectively bound to misfortune and suffering, while happiness is individually experienced; therefore Ruru, as a dharma-aware person, should refrain from killing.
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