Shloka 7
Ikṣvāku Dynasty: Vikukṣi’s Offense, Purañjaya’s Victory, Māndhātā’s Birth, and Saubhari’s Fall and Renunciation
तथेति स वनं गत्वा मृगान् हत्वा क्रियार्हणान् । श्रान्तो बुभुक्षितो वीर: शशं चाददपस्मृति: ॥ ७ ॥
tatheti sa vanaṁ gatvā mṛgān hatvā kriyārhaṇān śrānto bubhukṣito vīraḥ śaśaṁ cādad apasmṛtiḥ
Saying “So be it,” he went to the forest and slew many animals fit for the rite. But, weary and hungry, the valiant one forgot himself and ate a rabbit he had killed.
It is evident that kṣatriyas killed animals in the forest because the flesh of the animals was suitable to be offered at a particular type of yajña. Offering oblations to the forefathers in the ceremony known as śrāddha is also a kind of yajña. In this yajña, flesh obtained from the forest by hunting could be offered. However, in the present age, Kali-yuga, this kind of offering is forbidden. Quoting from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said:
FAQs
In this verse, apasmṛti indicates a clouding of memory/awareness—due to fatigue and hunger—leading the person to act improperly by taking a hare.
It highlights that the initial hunting was framed as being for sanctioned ritual use, but later, under exhaustion and hunger, discernment slipped and he took even a hare, showing how weakness can derail right conduct.
When tired, stressed, or hungry, judgment weakens; therefore one should avoid major decisions and potentially harmful actions in such states and return to steadiness before acting.