Shloka 16
Adhyāya 108: Paścima-dik—Varuṇa’s Realm, Sunset Cosmology, and Sacred-Geographic Markers
Suparṇa–Gālava संवाद
अत्राहं गालव पुरा क्षुधार्त: परिचिन्तयन्
atrāhaṃ gālava purā kṣudhārtaḥ paricintayan
Ngay tại đây, hỡi Gālava, thuở xa xưa, khi ta bị cơn đói hành hạ, ta đã đứng lặng mà suy tư sâu xa—tìm một đường lối vừa chính đáng vừa hữu hiệu giữa cảnh khốn cùng.
युपर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even under acute bodily distress (like hunger), one should pause to reflect (paricintayan) before acting. The verse foregrounds ethical deliberation as the first step in responding to suffering, implying that necessity does not automatically justify impulsive or unrighteous action.
Yuparṇa addresses Gālava and begins recounting a past incident: he was once afflicted by hunger and, in that condition, started thinking carefully about what to do next. This line sets up a remembered episode where a decision or action will follow from that deliberation.