Shloka 25
कि त्वस्था: परमं रूपं जीर्णमासीत् कथ॑ं पुनः । कन्यारूपमिहाद्यैवं किमिवात्रोत्तरं भवेत्,परंतु इसका यह परम सुन्दर रूप पहले जराजीर्ण कैसे हो गया था और अब यहाँ यह कन्यारूप कैसे प्रकट हो गया? ऐसी दशामें यहाँ उसके लिये क्या उत्तर हो सकता है?
kiṁ tv asthāḥ paramaṁ rūpaṁ jīrṇam āsīt kathaṁ punaḥ | kanyārūpam ihādyaivaṁ kim ivātrottaraṁ bhavet ||
Aṣṭāvakra said: “But how did this supremely beautiful form become worn out with age before? And now, here, how has it appeared again in the form of a maiden? In such a situation, what answer could possibly be given?”
अष्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the limits of ordinary explanation when confronted with extraordinary transformation: external form can change in ways that defy common reasoning, urging humility in judgment and caution against taking appearances as final truth.
Aṣṭāvakra expresses astonishment and presses a pointed question: how a previously aged, decrepit appearance could have existed, and how that same being now appears as a maiden—implying that any straightforward reply seems impossible in the face of such a reversal.