Shloka 6
Saṃvaraṇa’s Petition and Tapatī’s Conditioned Consent (सम्वरण-तपती संवादः)
आत्मनस्तु मया श्रेयो बोद्धव्यमिति रोचते । ब्रह्मवध्या55त्मवध्या वा श्रेयानात्मवधो मम,इसीमें मुझे अपना कल्याण समझना चाहिये तथा यही मुझे अच्छा लगता है। ब्रह्महत्या और आत्महत्यामें मुझे आत्महत्या ही श्रेष्ठ जान पड़ती है। ब्रह्महत्या बहुत बड़ा पाप है। इस जगत्में उससे छूटनेका कोई उपाय नहीं है। अनजानमें भी ब्रह्महत्या करनेकी अपेक्षा मेरी दृष्टिमें आत्महत्या कर लेना अच्छा है
ātmanaḥ tu mayā śreyo boddhavyam iti rocate | brahmavadhyā ātma-vadhyā vā śreyān ātma-vadho mama ||
The Brahmin said: “It seems to me that I should discern what is truly best for myself. Between the killing of a Brahmin and the killing of myself, I judge self-destruction to be the lesser course. Brahmin-slaying is a grievous sin, and in this world there is no easy release from it; therefore, even if the act were unintentional, I consider taking my own life preferable to incurring the guilt of Brahmin-murder.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic hierarchy of harms: brahmahatyā (killing a Brahmin) is portrayed as an exceptionally grave transgression, so the speaker argues that even self-destruction would be a lesser evil than committing that sin, especially if the alternative risks irreversible moral taint.
A Brahmin speaker is weighing two catastrophic outcomes—killing a Brahmin versus killing himself—and declares that, for him, suicide is preferable because brahmahatyā is considered a uniquely heavy and difficult-to-expiate offense.