Shloka 61
Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)
कृत्वैव केकामधुरं संगीतं मधुरस्वरम् । चित्रान् कलापान् विस्तीर्य सविलासान् मदालसान्,वहाँ लता-मण्डपोंमें मोरिनियोंके साथ नाचते हुए मोर दिखायी देते थे। जो मेघोंकी मृदंगतुल्य गम्भीर गर्जना सुनकर उद्दाम कामसे अत्यन्त उन्मत्त हो रहे थे। वे अपनी मधुर केकाध्वनिका विस्तार करके मीठे स्वरमें संगीतकी रचना करते थे और अपनी विचित्र पाँखें फैलाकर विलासयुक्त मदालसभावसे वनविहारके लिये उत्सुक हो प्रसन्नताके साथ नाच रहे थे। कुछ मोर लतावल्लरियोंसे व्याप्त कुटजवृक्षोंके कुज्जोंमें स्थित हो अपनी प्यारी मोरिनियोंके साथ रमण करते थे और कुछ कुटजोंकी डालियोंपर मदमत्त होकर बैठे थे तथा अपनी सुन्दर पाँखोंके घटाटोपसे युक्त हो मुकुटके समान जान पड़ते थे। कितने ही सुन्दर मोर वृक्षोंके कोटरोंमें बैठे थे। पाण्डवोंने उन सबको देखा
vaiśampāyana uvāca | kṛtvaiva kekāmadhuraṃ saṅgītaṃ madhurasvaram | citrān kalāpān vistīrya savilāsān madālasān |
Vaiśampāyana said: The peacocks, hearing the deep, drum-like rumble of the clouds, became wildly intoxicated with desire. They spread their many-hued tail-fans and, extending their sweet calls, fashioned melodious song in gentle tones. With playful grace and languid delight they danced in the forest bowers, eager for woodland sport—some sporting with their beloved peahens amid creeper-covered thickets, others perched in rapture on the branches, appearing crowned by the dense splendor of their plumes. The Pāṇḍavas beheld it.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily offers a reflective nature tableau: powerful natural rhythms (the clouds’ thunder) stir living beings into expressive action (song and dance). Ethically, it invites the listener to observe how desire and joy arise in their proper season and setting, suggesting that human emotion too can be understood, moderated, and contemplated rather than blindly followed.
Vaiśampāyana describes what the Pāṇḍavas see in the forest: peacocks, excited by the monsoon-like thunder, sing sweetly, spread their colorful tail-fans, and dance playfully with peahens in creeper-covered bowers and on tree branches.