Shloka 8
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
जघ्नुस्ता: पयसा पुत्रांस्तथा पौत्रान् विधुन्वती: । पशूनवेक्षमाणाश्च साधुवृत्तेन दम्पती
jaghnustāḥ payasā putrāṁs tathā pautrān vidhunvatīḥ | paśūn avekṣamāṇāś ca sādhuvṛttena dampatī ||
Ang mga baka, nanginginig sa dalamhati at tumitingin-tingin sa ibang hayop, nang hindi nila makita ang tunay nilang panginoon at ang kanilang mga guya, ay nangatal sa tindi ng sakit. At sa pamamagitan ng sarili nilang gatas, winasak nila ang mag-asawang nabubuhay sa pagnanakaw—kasama ang kanilang mga anak at mga apo. Ipinakikita ng pangyayaring ito na ang pinsalang dulot ng di-matuwid na kabuhayan ay bumabalik sa gumawa; at maging ang karaniwang nagbibigay-buhay ay maaaring maging kasangkapan ng paghihiganti kapag nilalabag ang dharma.
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
A livelihood rooted in adharma—such as theft and exploitation—invites inevitable ruin. The verse frames moral causality: violating rightful ownership and harming dependents (cows and calves) turns even nourishing milk into a means of punishment, emphasizing dharma’s protective and corrective force.
The cows, distressed because they cannot find their owner and calves and are searching among other cattle, tremble in pain. In that state, they bring about the destruction of the abducting/stealing couple and also their sons and grandsons—said to occur through the agency of the cows’ milk.