Shloka 9
कच-देवयानी संवादः
Kaca–Devayānī Dialogue and the Curse on Vidyā
रममाणौ यथाकामं यथैकदिवसं तथा । (कामक्रोधावजितवान मुनिर्नित्यं क्षमान्वित: । चिरार्जितस्य तपस: क्षयं स कृतवानृषि: ।। तपस: संक्षयादेव मुनिर्मोहं समाविशत् | कामरागाभिभूतस्य मुने: पार्श्व जगाम सा ।।) जनयामास स मुनिर्मेनकायां शकुन्तलाम्
ramamāṇau yathākāmaṃ yathaikadivasaṃ tathā | (kāmakrodhāvajitavān munir nityaṃ kṣamānvitaḥ | cirārjitasya tapasaḥ kṣayaṃ sa kṛtavān ṛṣiḥ || tapasaḥ saṃkṣayād eva munir mohaṃ samāviśat | kāmarāgābhibhūtasya muneḥ pārśvaṃ jagāma sā ||) janayāmāsa sa munir menakāyāṃ śakuntalām ||
قال كانفا: كانا يتلهّيان كما يشتهيان، فيمضي اليوم بعد اليوم كأنه يومٌ واحد. ومع أن الحكيم كان قد قهر الشهوةَ والغضبَ منذ زمنٍ بعيد وكان دائمَ الحِلم، فقد أذهب ما راكمه من قوةِ التَّقشّف (التَّپَس) عبر السنين. ومن نقصانِ التَّپَس دخل الوهمُ على المني؛ ولما غلبت الرغبةُ والتعلّقُ ذلك الزاهدَ دنت منه هي (ميناكا). وهكذا أنجب ذلك الحكيمُ شكونتلا من ميناكا.
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical warning: even long-cultivated ascetic merit (tapas) can diminish when vigilance and self-restraint lapse. As tapas wanes, moha (delusion) can arise, making one vulnerable to kāma-rāga (passion and attachment). The narrative frames self-control and sustained discipline as essential to preserving spiritual power and clarity.
Kaṇva narrates that the sage and Menakā spent time together in mutual enjoyment; this indulgence caused the sage’s accumulated austerity to decline. With the decline of tapas, delusion and passion overtook him, and Menakā approached him. From their union, Śakuntalā was born.