Shloka 16
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
भूगुरुवाच प्रत्याक्रोशेदिहाक्रुष्टस्ताडित: प्रतिताडयेत् । खादेच्च पृष्ठमांसानि यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्
bhṛgur uvāca pratyākrośed ihākr̥ṣṭas tāḍitaḥ pratitäḍayet | khādec ca pṛṣṭhamāṁsāni yas te harati puṣkaram ||
بھِرگو نے کہا—یہاں اگر اسے گالی دی جائے تو وہ جواب میں گالی دے؛ اگر اسے مارا جائے تو وہ بھی پلٹ کر مارے۔ اور جس نے تمہارا کنول چرایا ہے وہ دوسرے کی پیٹھ کا گوشت تک کھائے—یعنی انہی گناہوں میں شریک ہو۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Retaliation—returning abuse for abuse and violence for violence—draws one into the same moral fault; it is portrayed as becoming a participant in sin rather than upholding dharma.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse, a saying attributed to Bhṛgu is cited: the wrongdoer who stole a lotus is described as one who, when confronted, answers with counter-abuse and counter-violence, even to the point of extreme cruelty—an image used to underline the spiral of wrongdoing.