Shloka 43
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
77५ बह: * ८/5३१४ ४४.” 'ब्राह्मणके उस शापसे मुझे अधिक भय हो रहा है। ये ब्राह्मण, जिनके राजा चन्द्रमा हैं, अपने शाप या वरदानद्वारा दूसरोंको दुःख एवं सुख देनेमें समर्थ हैं ।।
brāhmaṇasya śāpena me bhayaṃ bhūya eva jāyate | ime brāhmaṇāḥ candrarājānaḥ śāpavaradānābhyāṃ pareṣāṃ duḥkhasukhe dātuṃ samarthāḥ || adāṃ tasmai go-sahasraṃ balīvarda-aśva-ṣaṭ-śatān | prasādaṃ na labhe śalya brāhmaṇān madrakeśvara ||
三阇耶说道：“那位婆罗门的诅咒使我更加恐惧。这些婆罗门——以月神为其君主——能以诅咒或赐福之力，降与他人痛苦或幸福。噢，摩陀罗之主沙利耶！我曾献给他一千头母牛与六百头公牛并马匹，却仍不能得到他慈悲的垂允。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral-spiritual authority is not automatically neutralized by wealth or gifts: a brāhmaṇa’s displeasure (śāpa) is feared because speech grounded in tapas and dharma is believed to carry real consequences. The verse also implies that true reconciliation requires right conduct and sincerity, not merely material compensation.
Sañjaya reports a situation in which a brāhmaṇa’s curse has become a serious concern. He tells Śalya, the Madra king, that even after offering substantial gifts—one thousand cows and six hundred bulls and horses—he failed to win the brāhmaṇa’s favor, highlighting the gravity of the curse and the limits of material appeasement.