The Murder of Satrājit and the Recovery of the Syamantaka Jewel
प्रत्याख्यात: स तेनापि शतधन्वा महामणिम् । तस्मिन् न्यस्याश्वमारुह्य शतयोजनगं ययौ ॥ १८ ॥
pratyākhyātaḥ sa tenāpi śatadhanvā mahā-maṇim tasmin nyasyāśvam āruhya śata-yojana-gaṁ yayau
由于阿克鲁拉(Akrūra)也拒绝了他的请求,沙塔丹瓦(Śatadhanvā)便将那颗珍贵的宝石交给阿克鲁拉保管,骑上一匹能日行百由旬的马逃跑了。
The term nyasya, “leaving in the care of,” implies Śatadhanvā now believed the jewel was his; thus he was leaving it in the care of a friend. In blunt terms, this is a thief’s mentality.
This verse shows how the jewel becomes a source of fear and flight for the guilty—Śatadhanvā, unable to find refuge, entrusts the jewel elsewhere and runs far away, indicating the karmic pressure created by wrongdoing.
Having been refused protection and still burdened by his crime and the pursuit that follows in the narrative, Śatadhanvā hides the jewel by entrusting it to another and flees rapidly to save himself.
Ill-gotten gain rarely brings peace; unethical actions create anxiety and instability—real security comes from integrity, accountability, and choosing dharma over short-term profit.