Shloka 8
धर्मव्याधोपदेशः
Dharma-vyādha’s Instruction on Śiṣṭācāra and Dharma
गदामि वेदान् विचिनोमि छन््द: सर्वे वेदा अक्षरशो मे अधीता: । न साधु दान श्रोत्रियस्य प्रदानं मा प्रादा: श्येनाय न कपोतो5स्मि,“मैं वेदोंका प्रवचन और छन्दोंका संग्रह करता हूँ। मैंने सम्पूर्ण वेदोंके एक-एक अक्षरका अध्ययन किया है। मैं श्रोत्रिय विद्वान् हूँ। मुझ-जैसे व्यक्तिको किसी भूखे प्राणीकी भूख बुझानेके लिये उसके हवाले कर देना उत्तम दान नहीं है। अतः आप मुझे बाजको न सौंपिये। मैं कबूतर नहीं हूँ
gadāmi vedān vicinomi chandaḥ sarve vedā akṣaraśo me adhītāḥ | na sādhu dānaṃ śrotriyasya pradānaṃ mā prādāḥ śyenāya na kapoto 'smi ||
马尔坎德耶说道：“我宣讲吠陀，汇集并考察诸韵律（chandas）。我已将一切吠陀逐字研习。吾乃博学的‘闻吠陀者’（śrotriya）。把我这样的人当作‘施舍’，只为填饱某个生灵的饥饿，并非善施。故不可将我交给鹰隼——我不是鸽子。”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse questions indiscriminate charity: a ‘gift’ that harms an innocent or violates propriety is not truly dharmic. Ethical giving must consider the nature of the act, the recipient’s claim, and the harm caused by handing someone over as a means to satisfy another’s hunger.
In the well-known hawk-and-pigeon moral dilemma context, a speaker argues against being surrendered to the hawk as a substitute for prey. He asserts his identity as a learned śrotriya and claims that giving him up as ‘alms’ is improper, insisting he is not the pigeon that the hawk is pursuing.