Shloka 7
Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
रहस्येकां तु तां दृष्टवा राजा राजीवलोचनाम् । न शशाक नियमन्तुं तं कामं कामवशीकृत:,एकान्त प्रदेशमें कमलनयनी माद्रीको अकेली देखकर राजा कामका वेग रोक न सके, वे पूर्णतः: कामदेवके अधीन हो गये थे
rahasy ekāṁ tu tāṁ dṛṣṭvā rājā rājīvalocanām | na śaśāka niyamantuṁ taṁ kāmaṁ kāmavaśīkṛtaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Als der König sie sah—Mādrī, die Lotosäugige—allein an einem abgeschiedenen Ort, vermochte er jenen Ansturm des Begehrens nicht zu zügeln; denn er war gänzlich unter die Herrschaft des kāma geraten.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of kāma when it overwhelms niyama (restraint): even a king can lose self-mastery, and such loss of control becomes a cause for later suffering and moral complication.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the king, upon seeing Mādrī alone in a secluded spot, becomes overpowered by desire and is unable to restrain himself—an immediate narrative lead-in to actions that will have serious consequences.