Shloka 42
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
एवं सति न दोषो मे नास्मि वध्यो न किल्बिषी । किल्विषं समवाये स्यान्मन्यसे यदि किल्बिषम्
evaṃ sati na doṣo me nāsmi vadhyo na kilbiṣī | kilviṣaṃ samavāye syān manyase yadi kilbiṣam ||
“Nếu quả đúng như vậy, thì ta không mang lỗi; ta chẳng đáng bị giết, cũng chẳng phải kẻ có tội. Nếu ngươi vẫn cho rằng ở đây có tội lỗi, thì tội ấy phải thuộc về toàn bộ mạng lưới các nhân duyên góp phần tạo thành.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues that moral blame cannot be assigned to a single agent when an act results from a network of causes; if sin is perceived, it lies in the whole causal aggregate rather than in one instrument alone.
The serpent, speaking in self-defense, claims innocence and argues against being punished, asserting that he is not individually culpable and that any perceived wrongdoing should be attributed to the combined circumstances and causes that produced the event.