पाण्डुर् उवाच
शत्रूणां या वधे वृत्तिः सा मृगाणां वधे स्मृता ॥
राज्ञां मृग न मां मोहात् त्वं गर्हयितुम् अर्हसि ॥
अच्छद्मनामायया च मृगाणां वध इष्यते ॥
स एव धर्मो राज्ञां तु तद् विद्वान् किं नु गर्हसे ॥
अगस्त्यः सत्रम् आसीनश् चचार मृगयाम् ऋषिः ॥
आरण्यान् सर्वदैवत्यान् मृगान् प्रोक्ष्य महावने ॥
प्रमाणदृष्टधर्मेण कथम् अस्मान् विगर्हसे ॥
अगस्त्यस्याभिचारेण युष्माकं वै वपा हुता ॥
pāṇḍur uvāca
śatrūṇāṃ yā vadhe vṛttiḥ sā mṛgāṇāṃ vadhe smṛtā ||
rājñāṃ mṛga na māṃ mohāt tvaṃ garhayitum arhasi ||
acchadmanāmāyayā ca mṛgāṇāṃ vadha iṣyate ||
sa eva dharmo rājñāṃ tu tad vidvān kiṃ nu garhase ||
agastyaḥ satram āsīnaś cacāra mṛgayām ṛṣiḥ ||
āraṇyān sarvadaivatyān mṛgān prokṣya mahāvane ||
pramāṇadṛṣṭadharmeṇa katham asmān vigarhase ||
agastyasyābhicāreṇa yuṣmākaṃ vai vapā hutā ||
Pandu said: 'The conduct accepted in the slaying of enemies is accepted also in the slaying of deer; you, O deer, ought not to reproach me, a king, out of delusion. Both without deceit and by guile the slaying of deer is sanctioned — this indeed is the dharma of kings; knowing this, why then do you reproach me? The sage Agastya, while presiding at a sacrificial session, went hunting, having consecrated the forest deer dedicated to all the gods in the great forest. By dharma attested by authority — how then do you reproach us? For by Agastya's rite the fat of your kind was offered in sacrifice.'
2f2dcfc39402 · 发布于 2026年7月12日 16:30:27 UTC
可用语言RUEN用方向键翻颂
Here Pandu defends himself, appealing to the dharma of kings and to the example of the sage Agastya. It is notable that he relies on precedent (pramana) and custom: hunting is a recognized right and duty of the kshatriya, and Agastya consecrated his quarry by sacrifice. But this is a valid argument, though an insufficient one: the outward permissibility of an act does not justify it if higher principles — here, compassion and fitness of occasion — are violated. The law allows the king to hunt, but not every killing is equal: to kill a being in the moment of love is not hunting but cruelty. Thus the scripture shows a fine distinction between the letter of permission and the spirit of dharma: one may invoke custom and still sin against compassion. The dispute between Pandu and the sage is a dispute between outward law and inward righteousness, and the sage's answer will show that spirit stands above letter.