Shloka 2
Varuṇa’s Bestowal of the Gāṇḍīva and the Arming of Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna
Khāṇḍava Prelude
रूपेण वयसा चैव कन्दर्पेण च दर्पिता: । अयुक्तं कृतवत्य: स्म क्षन्तुमहसि नो द्विज,(और इस प्रकार बोलीं--) “ब्रह्म! हम रूप, यौवन और कामसे उन्मत्त हो गयी थीं। इसीलिये यह अनुचित कार्य कर बैठीं। आप कृपापूर्वक हमारा अपराध क्षमा करें
rūpeṇa vayasā caiva kandarpeṇa ca darpitāḥ | ayuktaṃ kṛtavatyaḥ sma kṣantum arhasi no dvija ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Brahmane, berauscht von unserer Schönheit, unserer Jugend und der Macht des Begehrens, begingen wir eine unziemliche Tat. Vergib uns unser Vergehen, o Dvija.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride arising from beauty and youth, intensified by desire (kāma), can lead to adharma (improper action). It implicitly upholds self-restraint and the ethical necessity of acknowledging wrongdoing and seeking forgiveness from a moral authority.
A group of women (indicated by the feminine plural verb) confess that they acted wrongly due to being carried away by beauty, youth, and desire, and they appeal to a Brahmin (dvija) to pardon their offense; Vaiśampāyana reports their words.