Shloka 23
Purañjana Goes Hunting — The Chariot of the Body, Violence of Passion, and Return to Conjugal Bondage
सा त्वं मुखं सुदति सुभ्र्वनुरागभार व्रीडाविलम्बविलसद्धसितावलोकम् । नीलालकालिभिरुपस्कृतमुन्नसं न: स्वानां प्रदर्शय मनस्विनि वल्गुवाक्यम् ॥ २३ ॥
sā tvaṁ mukhaṁ sudati subhrv anurāga-bhāra- vrīḍā-vilamba-vilasad-dhasitāvalokam nīlālakālibhir upaskṛtam unnasaṁ naḥ svānāṁ pradarśaya manasvini valgu-vākyam
My wife of lovely teeth and brows, show me your face—your smiling glance, delayed by shyness and laden with love—adorned with blue-black hair and a lifted nose, and speak to me sweetly. Abandon your anger and be merciful to me.
An effeminate husband, simply being attracted by the external beauty of his wife, tries to become her most obedient servant. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has therefore advised that we not become attracted by a lump of flesh and blood. The story is told that at one time a man, very much attracted to a beautiful woman, wooed the woman in such a way that she devised a plan to show him the ingredients of her beauty. The woman made a date to see him, and before seeing him she took a purgative, and that whole day and night she simply passed stool, and she preserved that stool in a pot. The next night, when the man came to see her, she appeared very ugly and emaciated. When the man inquired from her about the woman with whom he had an engagement, she replied, “I am that very woman.” The man refused to believe her, not knowing that she had lost all her beauty due to the violent purgative that caused her to pass stool day and night. When the man began to argue with her, the woman said that she was not looking beautiful because she was separated from the ingredients of her beauty. When the man asked how she could be so separated, the woman said, “Come on, and I will show you.” She then showed him the pot filled with liquid stool and vomit. Thus the man became aware that a beautiful woman is simply a lump of matter composed of blood, stool, urine and similar other disgusting ingredients. This is the actual fact, but in a state of illusion, man becomes attracted by illusory beauty and becomes a victim of māyā.
FAQs
In this verse Purañjana affectionately entreats his offended queen to show her face and speak sweetly again—highlighting the pull of attachment and intimate emotion within the allegorical narrative.
After neglecting her and pursuing enjoyment, he tries to pacify her with flattering, affectionate words; the scene illustrates how the conditioned soul becomes bound by relationship-based attachment and desire.
It reminds us to recognize how charm, flattery, and emotional dependence can deepen attachment; channeling affection toward devotion and responsibility helps relationships become purifying rather than binding.