Shloka 84
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
चाण्डालने कहा--ब्रह्मन! मैं तो आपका हितैषी सुहृद् बनकर ही यह धर्माचरणकी सलाह दे रहा हूँ; क्योंकि आपपर मुझे दया आ रही है। यह जो कल्याणकी बात बता रहा हूँ, इसे आप ग्रहण करें। लोभवश पाप न करें ।। विश्वामित्र उवाच सुहन्मे त्वं सुखेप्सुश्वेदापदो मां समुद्धर । जाने5हं धर्मतो55त्मानं शौनीमुत्सूज जाघनीम्,विश्वामित्र बोले--भैया! यदि तुम मेरे हितैषी सूह॒द् हो और मुझे सुख देना चाहते हो तो इस विपत्तिसे मेरा उद्धार करो। मैं अपने धर्मको जानता हूँ। तुम तो यह कुत्तेकी जाँघ मुझे दे दो
Viśvāmitra uvāca: su-hṛn me tvaṁ sukhepsuḥ ced āpado māṁ samuddhara | jāne 'haṁ dharmato 'tmānaṁ śaunīm utsṛja jāghanim ||
Sinabi ni Viśvāmitra: “Kung ikaw ay tunay na kaibigang nagmamalasakit at nais ang aking kagalingan, iligtas mo ako sa pagdurusang ito. Alam ko ang aking tungkulin at ang tama para sa akin. Kaya ibigay mo na ang hita ng asong iyan at iabot sa akin.”
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical tension: in extreme distress one may appeal to friendship and compassion for relief, while still asserting awareness of dharma. It highlights how dharma is negotiated under necessity and how intention (welfare, rescue) is invoked to justify a difficult request.
Viśvāmitra, afflicted by hardship (notably hunger in this episode), addresses another person as a friend and asks to be saved from calamity by being given a dog’s thigh—an act normally considered impure—while insisting he understands his own dharma.