Shloka 9
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
बाहुभ्यां सम्परिक्षिप्तं स्त्रिया परमघोरया । इतनेहीमें उसने देखा कि वह भयानक वन चारों ओरसे जालसे घिरा हुआ है और एक बड़ी भयानक स्त्रीने अपनी दोनों भुजाओंसे उसको आवेष्टित कर रखा है ।। पञठ्चशीर्षधरैनागि: शैलैरिव समुन्नतैः
bāhubhyāṃ samparikṣiptaṃ striyā paramaghorayā | pañcaśīrṣadharaiḥ nāgaiḥ śailair iva samunnataiḥ ||
Vidura said: “He saw that dreadful forest was hemmed in on every side as if by a net, and that a supremely terrifying woman had wrapped him tightly in her two arms. Around him rose serpents bearing five hoods, towering like lofty mountains.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark imagery—entrapment by a terrifying woman and towering five-hooded serpents—to suggest how overpowering attachment and delusion can bind a person, surrounding him with dangers that feel inescapable. Ethically, it warns against being seized by forces that cloud judgment and lead to suffering.
Vidura describes a vision-like scene: a dreadful forest enclosed like a net, where a fearsome woman physically encircles someone with her arms, while five-hooded serpents loom like mountains. The description functions as an ominous tableau, intensifying the sense of peril and confinement.