Shloka 5
नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct
Nṛśaṃsa
वायुरुवाच अहमप्येवमेव त्वां कुर्वाण: शाल्मले रुषा | आत्मना यत्कृतं कृच्छे शाखानामपकर्षणम्
vāyur uvāca: aham apy evam eva tvāṁ kurvāṇaḥ śālmale ruṣā | ātmanā yat kṛtaṁ kṛcchre śākhānām apakarṣaṇam ||
风神瓦由说道：“娑罗摩梨啊，我在盛怒之中也曾想把你摧折到这般境地。然而你如今所受的苦难——枝干被扯裂、尽失其势——乃是你自作自受。因你自身的昏昧判断，你招致此祸，终于沦为我威力与强势之下的俘虏。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral causality: suffering often arises from one’s own misguided choices. Even when an external force (like Vāyu) is involved, the deeper lesson is to avoid pride and rashness, since one’s own conduct can invite ruin.
Vāyu addresses the Śālmali tree, saying that in anger he intended to punish it, but the tree has effectively brought the painful loss of its branches upon itself; thus it has become subject to Vāyu’s power and force.