Shloka 15
ययातेर्वानप्रस्थतपःस्वर्गारोहणम् | Yayāti’s Vānaprastha Austerities and Ascent to Heaven
देवयान्युवाच केनास्यर्थेन नृपते इमं देशमुपागत: । जिधघृक्षुर्वारिजं किंचिदथवा मृगलिप्सया,देवयानीने पूछा--महाराज! आप किस कार्यसे वनके इस प्रदेशमें आये हैं? आप जल अथवा कमल लेना चाहते हैं या शिकारकी इच्छासे ही आये हैं?
devayāny uvāca kenāsyārthena nṛpate imaṁ deśam upāgataḥ | jighṛkṣur vārijaṁ kiñcid athavā mṛga-lipsayā ||
Devayānī said: “O king, for what purpose have you come to this part of the forest? Have you come to draw water, to pluck a lotus, or driven by the desire to hunt?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical importance of intention: before judging an action (entering the forest), one should ask its purpose—whether it is a harmless need (water/lotus) or a potentially harmful impulse (hunting).
Devayānī addresses a king who has arrived in a forest region and asks why he has come—whether to collect water or lotus, or to hunt—setting up the circumstances for their ensuing interaction.