Shloka 12
कच-देवयानी संवादः
Kaca–Devayānī Dialogue and the Curse on Vidyā
दृष्टवा शयानं शकुना: समन्तात् पर्यवारयन् | नेमां हिंस्युर्वने बालां क्रव्यादा मांसगृद्धिन:
dṛṣṭvā śayānaṃ śakunāḥ samantāt paryavārayan | nemāṃ hiṃsyur vane bālāṃ kravyādā māṃsagṛddhinaḥ ||
Kaṇva sprach: Als die Vögel das junge Mädchen dort liegen sahen, scharten sie sich von allen Seiten und bildeten einen schützenden Ring. Im Wald fügten die fleischfressenden Tiere—gierig nach Beute—dem Kind keinen Schaden zu. Diese Szene betont eine sittliche Ordnung, in der Unschuld bewahrt wird, als hielte die Natur selbst die Gewalt gegen den Schuldlosen zurück.
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal that innocence should not be violated; even in a harsh wilderness, a protective order (read as dharma or auspicious providence) restrains harm and shelters the blameless.
Kaṇva describes how, upon seeing a young girl lying in the forest, birds gathered around her as if guarding her, and carnivorous creatures did not attack her despite their natural hunger.