Shloka 3
Adhyāya 122 — Śruta-vṛtta-yukta Brāhmaṇa and the Ethics of Dāna
Maitreya–Vyāsa Saṃvāda
जानामि पापै: स्वकृतैर्गतं त्वां कीट कीटताम् । अवाप्स्यसि पुनर्धर्म धर्म तु यदि मन्यसे
jānāmi pāpaiḥ svakṛtair gataṃ tvāṃ kīṭa kīṭatām | avāpsyasi punar dharma dharma tu yadi manyase ||
Wika ni Vyāsa: “Nalalaman ko na dahil sa mga kasalanang ikaw mismo ang gumawa, bumagsak ka sa kalagayan ng isang uod. Gayunman, muli mong makakamtan ang dharma—kung tunay ngang kinikilala mo pa rin ang dharma at itinuturing mo itong may ganap na kapangyarihan.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wrongdoing brings self-caused downfall (even to a degraded birth), but moral restoration remains possible if one still recognizes dharma and chooses to realign one’s conduct with it.
Vyāsa addresses someone who has fallen into a worm-like condition due to their own sins, affirming his knowledge of the cause and offering a conditional assurance: dharma can be regained if the person still accepts dharma as a guiding principle.