Shloka 20
Ruru–Pramadvarā: Lineage, Fosterage, Betrothal, and the Snakebite Crisis (Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 8)
सा दष्टा तेन सर्पेण पपात सहसा भुवि । विवर्णा विगतश्रीका भ्रष्टाभरणचेतना,उस सर्पके डँस लेनेपर वह सहसा पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ी। उसके शरीरका रंग उड़ गया, शोभा नष्ट हो गयी, आभूषण इधर-उधर बिखर गये और चेतना लुप्त हो गयी। उसके बाल खुले हुए थे। अब वह अपने उन बन्धुजनोंके हृदयमें विषाद उत्पन्न कर रही थी। जो कुछ ही क्षण पहले अत्यन्त सुन्दरी एवं दर्शनीय थी, वही प्राणशून्य होनेके कारण अब देखनेयोग्य नहीं रह गयी
sā daṣṭā tena sarpeṇa papāta sahasā bhuvi | vivarṇā vigataśrīkā bhraṣṭābharaṇacetanā ||
Śaunaka said: Bit by that serpent, she suddenly fell to the ground. Her complexion drained away, her radiance and grace were lost, her ornaments slipped and scattered, and consciousness left her. In a moment, the beauty that had delighted the eye became a sight of grief for her kin—an ethical reminder of how swiftly life’s splendor can be overturned by unseen danger and how attachment to outward brilliance is fragile.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence: beauty, status, and adornment can vanish instantly, so ethical steadiness should not depend on external splendor. It also evokes compassion and sobriety in the face of sudden suffering.
A woman is bitten by a serpent and collapses immediately. Her color and radiance fade, her ornaments fall away, and she becomes unconscious, turning a moment of beauty into a scene of shock and grief.