Shloka 18
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
प्रदानकांक्षिणीनां च कन्यानां वयसि स्थिते | श्रुत्वा कथास्तथायुक्ता: सा55शा कृशतरी मया
pradānakāṅkṣiṇīnāṃ ca kanyānāṃ vayasi sthite | śrutvā kathās tathāyuktāḥ sāśā kṛśatarī mayā ||
Wenn Jungfrauen, die danach verlangen, zur Ehe gegeben zu werden, das rechte Alter erreicht haben und passende Worte über die Vermählung hören, steigt in ihren Herzen Hoffnung auf. Eben diese Hoffnung, so natürlich für sie, ist auch in mir aufgestiegen und hat mich vor Sehnsucht noch magerer und verzehrter gemacht.
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how socially sanctioned expectations—especially regarding marriage at the proper age—naturally generate hope and longing, powerful enough to affect one’s body and mind. It implicitly points to the ethical weight of such discussions and the vulnerability of those who desire a rightful life-stage transition.
Kṛśa speaks introspectively: hearing appropriate talk about marriage, like that which stirs hope in marriageable maidens, has similarly stirred hope in him; the intensity of that hope has left him even more emaciated.