Shloka 78
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
क्व महर्षि: स चैवाग्रय: साप्सरा: क्व च मेनका । क्व च त्वमेवं कृपणा तापसीवेषधारिणी,कहाँ वे मुनिशिरोमणि महर्षि विश्वामित्र, कहाँ अप्सराओंमें श्रेष्ठ मेनका और कहाँ तुम- जैसी तापसीका वेष धारण करनेवाली दीन-हीन नारी?
kva maharṣiḥ sa caivāgryaḥ sāpsarāḥ kva ca menakā | kva ca tvam evaṁ kṛpaṇā tāpasī-veṣa-dhāriṇī ||
Wo ist jener große Rishi, der Erste unter den Weisen? Wo ist Menakā, die Beste unter den Apsaras? Und wo bist du—so elend—die du die Gestalt einer Asketin trägst?
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between outward appearance and inner truth: an ascetic guise can conceal worldly origins, and a king’s speech can expose suspicion or judgment. It invites reflection on discernment and restraint in speech when confronting ambiguity.
King Duṣyanta addresses a woman in ascetic dress (Śakuntalā) and contrasts her present pitiable condition with the famed figures connected to her birth—sage Viśvāmitra and the Apsaras Menakā—questioning how someone of such lineage appears as a distressed ascetic.