Shloka 9
Pūru-vaṁśa, Duṣmanta–Śakuntalā, and the Rise of Mahārāja Bharata
दुष्मन्तो मृगयां यात: कण्वाश्रमपदं गत: । तत्रासीनां स्वप्रभया मण्डयन्तीं रमामिव ॥ ८ ॥ विलोक्य सद्यो मुमुहे देवमायामिव स्त्रियम् । बभाषे तां वरारोहां भटै: कतिपयैर्वृत: ॥ ९ ॥
duṣmanto mṛgayāṁ yātaḥ kaṇvāśrama-padaṁ gataḥ tatrāsīnāṁ sva-prabhayā maṇḍayantīṁ ramām iva
Once, King Duṣmanta went into the forest to hunt and, greatly fatigued, came to the hermitage of Kaṇva Muni. There he beheld a supremely beautiful woman, like Goddess Lakṣmī herself, seated and adorning the entire āśrama with her own radiance. Naturally drawn by her beauty, the King approached her with a few soldiers and spoke to her.
FAQs
This verse shows Duṣmanta becoming instantly bewildered, comparing the experience to being influenced by the Lord’s divine māyā—highlighting how powerful attraction can be and how it operates under higher arrangement.
As a king traveling on a hunt, Duṣmanta moved with attendants; upon seeing Śakuntalā at Kaṇva’s hermitage, he addressed her in that setting, marking the narrative beginning of their encounter.
It cautions that sudden fascination can cloud judgment; one should pause, reflect, and act with dharma and self-control rather than being driven by immediate infatuation.