Shloka 26
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
यत्र शक्रो वर्षति सर्वकामान् यत्र स्त्रियः कामचारा भवन्ति । यत्र चेषष्या नास्ति नारीनराणां तत्र त्वाहं हस्तिनं यातयिष्ये
Gautama uvāca | yatra śakro varṣati sarvakāmān yatra striyaḥ kāmacārā bhavanti | yatra ceṣyā nāsti nārī-narāṇāṃ tatra tv ahaṃ hastinaṃ yātayiṣye ||
Gautama nói: “Nơi Indra rưới mưa sự thành tựu mọi ước nguyện; nơi nữ nhân tự do đi lại theo ý mình; và nơi giữa nữ và nam tuyệt nhiên không có lòng ghen—chính tại đó ta sẽ đem con voi của ta đi (khỏi ngài).”
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights envy (īrṣyā) as a key moral poison in human relations. Gautama frames an ideal society—abundance without scarcity, freedom without suspicion, and harmony between genders without jealousy—as the only place where his claim can be relinquished, implying that ethical maturity is rarer than material prosperity.
Gautama speaks to a king (implied by context) about reclaiming an elephant. He declares he will take it back only in a land where Indra grants all desires, women move freely by choice, and no jealousy exists between men and women—setting a near-impossible condition to underscore the moral point.