Shloka 17
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
वसिष्ठ उवाच अस्वाध्यायपरो लोके श्वानं च परिकर्षतु । पुरे च भिक्षुर्भवतु यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्
Vasiṣṭha uvāca: asvādhyāya-paro loke śvānaṃ ca parikarṣatu | pure ca bhikṣur bhavatu yas te harati puṣkaram ||
وسِشٹھ نے کہا—جس نے تمہارا کنول چرایا ہے وہ اس دنیا میں سوادھیائے سے منہ موڑ لے۔ وہ کتے کو گھسیٹتا پھرے اور شہروں میں بھکاری بن کر جئے۔
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames theft—especially of a valued or sacred object—as a dharmic lapse that results in loss of svādhyāya (sacred learning) and honor. The punishment is ethical and social: ignorance, disgrace, and dependence replace the stability and dignity that dharma protects.
Vasiṣṭha pronounces a curse upon an unnamed offender who has stolen ‘your lotus’ (puṣkara). He declares that the thief will become averse to sacred study, be reduced to dragging about with a dog, and wander in towns as a beggar—depicting a fall from cultured life into humiliation.