Shloka 26
Adhyāya 71: Kaca and the Saṃjīvanī-vidyā
Devayānī–Śukra Episode
रूपयौवनमाधुर्यचेष्टितस्मित भाषणै: । लोभयित्वा वरारोहे तपसस्तं निवर्तय,“वरारोहे! अपने रूप, जवानी, मधुर स्वभाव, हाव-भाव, मन्न्द मुसकान और सरस वार्तालाप आदिके द्वारा मुनिको लुभाकर उन्हें तपस्यासे निवृत्त कर दो”
rūpayauvanamādhuryaceṣṭitasmitabhāṣaṇaiḥ | lobhayitvā varārohe tapasas taṃ nivartaya ||
„O Maid mit schönen Hüften, mit deiner Schönheit, Jugend, Süße, verführerischen Gebärden, sanftem Lächeln und bezaubernder Rede betöre jenen Weisen und wende ihn von seiner Askese ab.“
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse spotlights an ethical conflict: using charm and desire as instruments to derail a sage’s tapas. It implicitly raises questions about dharma—whether ends justify means, and how easily disciplined virtue can be tested by sensory allure.
Kaṇva addresses a young woman and instructs her to employ her beauty, youth, pleasing demeanor, gestures, smile, and speech to entice a sage and make him abandon his austerities—an explicit directive to interrupt ascetic practice through seduction.