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 ||
“若果真如此，则我无过；我既不当被杀，也非罪人。若你仍认为此处有罪，那么那罪也应归于一切促成此事的诸因缘之整体。”
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.