Shloka 46
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
विश्वामित्रस्ततो भीतः सहसा तमुवाच ह | तत्र व्रीडाकुलमुख: सोद्वेगस्तेन कर्मणा,चाण्डालने कहा--अरे! चाण्डालोंके घरोंमें तो सब लोग सो गये हैं, फिर कौन यहाँ आकर कुत्तेकी जाँघ लेनेकी चेष्टा कर रहा है? मैं जागता हूँ, सोया नहीं हूँ। मैं देखता हूँ, तू मारा गया। उस क्रूर स्वभाववाले चाण्डालने जब ऐसी बात कही, तब विश्वामित्र उससे डर गये। उनके मुखपर लज्जा घिर आयी। वे उस नीच कर्मसे उद्विग्न हो सहसा बोल उठे --
viśvāmitras tato bhītaḥ sahasā tam uvāca ha | tatra vrīḍākula-mukhaḥ sodvegās tena karmaṇā ||
Then Viśvāmitra, frightened, suddenly spoke to him. His face was clouded with shame, and he was shaken with anxiety because of that degrading act he had attempted. The scene underscores the moral tension between desperate survival and the loss of dignity that accompanies a fall into prohibited conduct.
घपच उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when driven by extreme hardship, a fall into prohibited or degrading conduct produces inner turmoil—shame (vrīḍā) and anxiety (udvega). The verse highlights the ethical cost of transgression and the conscience’s response to adharma.
After being confronted (in the surrounding passage) during an attempted low act, Viśvāmitra becomes afraid and speaks abruptly. His face shows shame and he is disturbed by what he has done, marking a moment of moral crisis and self-awareness.