Shloka 8
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्तं तर्कयामास वै नृपम् । पतितं पातनं संख्ये शात्रवाणां महीतले,युद्धमें शत्रुदलको पृथ्वीपर गिरा देनेवाले नरेशको भूमिपर गिरा देख मन्त्रीने यह अनुमान लगाया कि ये भूख-प्याससे पीड़ित एवं थके-माँदे हैं
kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntaṃ tarkayāmāsa vai nṛpam | patitaṃ pātanaṃ saṅkhye śātravāṇāṃ mahītale ||
Seeing the king lying fallen upon the earth—he who in battle had cast down the ranks of enemies—the Gandharva inferred that the ruler was now spent, worn out by hunger and thirst. Thus the verse teaches that even the mighty are brought low by bodily need, and that careful observation yields a humane, ethically mindful judgment rather than contempt for a fallen foe.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and martial prowess do not exempt anyone from basic human limits; ethical judgment should be guided by attentive understanding of circumstances (here, hunger, thirst, and fatigue) rather than by triumphalism over someone who has fallen.
The Gandharva observes a king lying fallen on the ground—formerly a formidable subduer of enemies in battle—and concludes that the king’s collapse is due to hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.