Shloka 10
कच-देवयानी संवादः
Kaca–Devayānī Dialogue and the Curse on Vidyā
प्रस्थे हिमवतो रम्ये मालिनीमभितो नदीम् | जाततमुत्सृज्य तं गर्भ मेनका मालिनीमनु
prasthe himavato ramye mālinīm abhito nadīm | jātam ut-sṛjya taṃ garbhaṃ menakā mālinīm anu
Kaṇva said: In a lovely region of the Himālaya, by the river Mālinī, Menakā, having given birth, abandoned the newborn child and went away along the Mālinī.
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how actions taken under pressure or circumstance—here, abandonment—create ethical and emotional consequences, and how dharma may later be upheld through others’ responsibility and compassion toward the vulnerable.
Kaṇva narrates that Menakā, after giving birth near the Mālinī river in the Himālaya region, leaves the newborn behind and departs along the river—an event that leads to the child being found and raised by others.