Shloka 23
Ruru–Pramadvarā: Lineage, Fosterage, Betrothal, and the Snakebite Crisis (Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 8)
ददर्श तां पिता चैव ये चैवान्ये तपस्विन: । विचेष्टमानां पतितां भूतले पद्मवर्चसम्,उसके पिता स्थूलकेशने तथा अन्य तपस्वी महात्माओंने भी आकर उसे देखा। वह कमलकी-सी कान्तिवाली किशोरी धरतीपर चेष्टारहित पड़ी थी
dadarśa tāṃ pitā caiva ye cānyē tapasvinaḥ | viceṣṭamānāṃ patitāṃ bhūtale padmavarcasam ||
قال شاونَكا: إن أباها، ومعه سائر الزهّاد من النُّسّاك، قد جاءوا فرأوها—مطروحةً على الأرض ساكنةً لا حراك بها، ومع ذلك تشعّ ببهاءٍ كبهاء اللوتس.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic sensitivity: even when a person is physically struck down, their inner purity and dignity (symbolized by lotus-like radiance) remain worthy of reverence, calling forth compassion and protective responsibility from elders and the righteous.
Śaunaka narrates that the girl’s father and other ascetics arrive and behold her lying on the earth, motionless, yet shining with lotus-like beauty—an emotionally charged discovery that sets a tone of grief and moral concern.