Shloka 33
Ajagara-vrata (The ‘Python’ Discipline): Prahrāda Questions a Wandering Sage
भोजन करके विश्राम कर लेनेपर गौतम इस प्रकार चिन्ता करने लगा--“अहो! मैंने लोभ और मोहसे प्रेरित होकर सुन्दर सुवर्णका यह महान् भार ले लिया है। अभी मुझे बहुत दूर जाना है। रास्तेमें खानेके लिये कुछ भी नहीं है, जिससे मेरे प्राणोंकी रक्षा हो सके ।।
bhojanaṃ kṛtvā viśrāmaṃ ca samāśritya gautama evaṃ cintayām āsa— “aho! lobha-moha-preritaḥ śubhra-svarṇasya mahā-bhāraṃ mayā gṛhītaḥ. adhunā me dūraṃ gantavyam. pathi bhojanārthaṃ kiṃcid api nāsti yena prāṇā rakṣyeyuḥ. kiṃ kṛtvā dhārayeyaṃ vai prāṇān?” ity abhyacintayat. tataḥ sa pathi bhoktavyaṃ prekṣamāṇo na kiṃcana. atha sa kṛtaghnaḥ manasā evam avadhārayat— “ayaṃ baka-rājā rājadharmā mama samīpe eva. eṣa māṃsasya mahān rāśiḥ. enam eva hatvā gṛhītvā śīghram ito gamiṣyāmi.”
吃过饭并歇息之后，乔达摩忧思起来：“唉！我被贪欲与迷妄驱使，竟背起这华美却沉重的金块。前路尚远，而途中毫无食物可用以保全性命。我当以何法维持这口气？”他便如此焦虑。继而见路上并无可食之物，那忘恩负义之人暗自思量：“苍鹭之王罗阇达摩（Rājadharmā）就在我身旁。他是一大堆肉。我将杀了他，带走他，并迅速离开此地。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how greed (lobha) and delusion (moha) distort judgment: a person who has already benefited from another’s presence can still become ‘kṛtaghna’ (ungrateful) and rationalize harm for self-preservation. It frames ethical failure as beginning in inner calculation—when survival and gain are pursued without gratitude and dharma.
Gautama, burdened by a heavy load of gold and lacking provisions for the road, worries about sustaining his life. Seeing no food, he turns his attention to Rājadharmā, the king of herons who is nearby, and decides to kill him for meat so he can continue his journey quickly.