Shloka 40
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
सर्प उवाच सर्व एते हास्ववशा दण्डचक्रादयो यथा । तथाहमपि तस्मान्मे नैष दोषो मतस्तव
sarpa uvāca sarva ete hāsvavaśā daṇḍacakrādayo yathā | tathāham api tasmān me naiṣa doṣo mataḥ tava ||
Wika ng ahas: “Kung paanong ang lahat ng kasangkapang ito—gaya ng patpat at gulong na ginagamit sa paghubog ng palayok na luwad—ay kumikilos lamang sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng iba, gayon din ako’y nasa ilalim ng kapangyarihan ng Kamatayan. Kaya ang sisi na ibinabato mo sa akin, sa aking palagay, ay hindi tunay na akin.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues about moral responsibility: beings often act under forces beyond their independent control (here, ‘Death’/inevitability), so blame should be assigned carefully, distinguishing intention and autonomy from compulsion and circumstance.
In a dialogue with a hunter, the serpent defends itself against accusation, using the analogy of potter’s tools that function only under an operator’s control, claiming it too is constrained by a higher power (Death) and thus should not be condemned as solely culpable.