Shloka 14
मान्धातृ-जन्म-चरितम्
The Birth and Career Account of Māndhātṛ
तस्य श्रान्तस्य शुष्केण कण्ठेन क्रोशतस्तदा । नाश्रौषीत् कश्नन तदा शकुनेरिव वाशत:,राजा थककर सूखे कण्ठसे पानीके लिये चिल्ला रहे थे, परंतु उस समय चें-चें करनेवाले पक्षीकी भाँति उनकी चीख-पुकार कोई भी न सुन सका
tasya śrāntasya śuṣkeṇa kaṇṭhena krośatas tadā | nāśrauṣīt kaścana tadā śakuner iva vāśataḥ ||
Lomaśa sprach: Als er, erschöpft, damals mit ausgetrockneter Kehle nach Wasser schrie, hörte ihn zu jener Zeit niemand; sein Rufen verhallte ungehört, wie der raue Schrei eines Vogels in der Wildnis.
लोमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights human vulnerability: status and power cannot guarantee help in moments of distress. Ethically, it points to the importance of compassion and support for those who suffer unseen, and it suggests how isolation can intensify the consequences of hardship.
An exhausted figure (described as a king in the accompanying sense) cries out for water with a dry throat, but no one hears him. His cries are compared to the call of a bird—sound that fades into the wilderness without response.