Shloka 2
Adhyaya 71 — The King’s Remorse and the Sage’s Counsel on the Necessity of a Wife
अनर्घयोग्यता कष्टं स मामाह महामनाः ।
वैकल्यं विप्रमुद्दिश्य तथाहायं निशाचरः ॥
anarghayogyatā kaṣṭaṃ sa mām āha mahāmanāḥ / vaikalyaṃ vipram uddiśya tathāha ayaṃ niśācaraḥ
«يا لها من عدمِ لياقةٍ مؤلمٍ لمثلِ هذا المستحق!»—هكذا خاطبني ذلك العظيمُ الهمة، مشيرًا إلى نقصِ البراهمن؛ وكذلك تكلّم ذلك الجائلُ ليلًا (الراكشسا).
FAQs
The king internalizes the critique: dharma is not only outward correction but also recognition of one’s lapse and its impact on the vulnerable (here, the brāhmaṇa).
Ethical instruction embedded in manvantara narrative; not a genealogical vaṃśa list but a dharma-illustration within that epochal setting.
‘Deficiency’ (vaikalya) can be read as a symbol of incomplete discernment; the episode pushes the ruler toward wholeness through counsel from a seer.