Shloka 18
उत्तङ्कोपाख्यानम् — Maṇi-Kuṇḍala Retrieval and Entry into Nāgaloka
Chapter 57
उत्तंक बोले--नरेश्वर! मैं कहाँ आपकी पत्नीको ढूँढ़ता फिरूँगा? मुझे क्योंकर उनका दर्शन हो सकेगा? आप स्वयं ही अपनी पत्नीके पास क्यों नहीं चलते? ।।
saudāsa uvāca | tāṁ drakṣyati bhavān adya kasmiṁścid vananirjhare | ṣaṣṭhe kāle na hi mayā sā śakyā draṣṭum adya vai ||
Uttaṅka said: “O king, where am I to go searching for your wife? How could I gain sight of her? Why do you yourself not go to your queen?” Saudāsa said: “O Brahmin, you will see her today by a spring in the forest. But at this sixth division of the day I cannot meet her now—this is not the time when I am able to see her.”
सौदास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights restraint and time-discipline: even when a goal is urgent, one should act within proper limits of time and capacity, speaking truthfully about what is feasible rather than making reckless promises.
Saudāsa informs the other party that the sought woman will be seen that very day near a forest spring, but he himself cannot meet her at that moment because it is the sixth division of the day, a time when he is not able to see her.