Shloka 2
कुन्ती–व्याससंवादः
Kuntī–Vyāsa Dialogue on Durvāsā’s Boon and Karṇa’s Birth
वन॑ प्रविशतानेन वायुभक्षेण धीमता । अग्नय: कारयित्वेष्टिमुत्सृष्टा इति न: श्रुतम्
vanaṁ praviśatānena vāyubhakṣeṇa dhīmatā | agnayaḥ kārayitveṣṭim utsṛṣṭā iti naḥ śrutam |
Nārada said: “We have heard that when that wise king—living only on air—was about to enter the forest, he had an iṣṭi rite performed through the priests and then abandoned the three sacred fires there.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic transition into renunciation: even when withdrawing from household life, one should conclude obligations properly—here, by arranging a final iṣṭi and formally relinquishing the sacred fires—showing that renunciation is disciplined, not careless abandonment.
Nārada reports what is traditionally heard: as the wise king, practicing extreme austerity (living on air), prepares to enter the forest, he has priests perform an iṣṭi rite and then leaves behind the three ritual fires, marking his departure from domestic sacrificial life.