Shloka 1
Adhyāya 71: Kaca and the Saṃjīvanī-vidyā
Devayānī–Śukra Episode
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! तदनन्तर महाबाहु राजा दुष्यन्त साथ आये हुए अपने उन मन्त्रियोंको भी बाहर छोड़कर अकेले ही उस आश्रममें गये, किंतु वहाँ कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले महर्षि नहीं दिखायी दिये
Vaiśampāyana uvāca—rājan! tadanantaram mahābāhu rājā duṣyantaḥ saha-āgatān svān mantriṇaḥ api bahiḥ sthāpayitvā eka eva tam āśramam agacchat; kintu tatra kaṭhora-vrata-pālanāḥ maharṣayaḥ na dṛśyante sma.
قال فَيْشَمْبَايَنَة: «أيها الملك! بعد ذلك دخل الملك دُشْيَنْتَة، عظيمَ الساعد، إلى الأشرم وحده، حتى إنه ترك الوزراء المرافقين له خارجًا. غير أن المها رِشيّين الثابتين على النذور الشديدة لم يُرَ لهم أثر هناك.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal restraint and reverence: Duṣyanta enters the hermitage alone, leaving his retinue outside, reflecting humility before ascetic spaces and the ethical boundary between worldly power and spiritual discipline.
After some prior events, King Duṣyanta goes by himself into an āśrama, having left his ministers outside; inside, however, the vow-observing sages who would normally be present are not seen.