Shloka 9
Agni’s Withdrawal to the Forest and Identification with Āṅgirasa (अग्न्याङ्गिरस-इतिहासः)
शौचं तु यावत् कुरुते भाजनस्य कुटुम्बिनी । एतस्मिन्नन्तरे राजन् क्षुधासम्पीडितो भृशम्
śaucaṁ tu yāvat kurute bhājanasy kuṭumbinī | etasminn antare rājan kṣudhāsampīḍito bhṛśam |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “While the housewife was still engaged in cleaning the vessel, O King, in that very interval he became severely tormented by hunger.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how basic human needs—especially hunger—can become overpowering even within a short time, setting an ethical backdrop for compassion, timely hospitality, and practical dharma in household life.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates that as the housewife is still cleaning a utensil, the person in the story (addressed indirectly) becomes intensely afflicted by hunger during that brief interval, heightening the urgency of the situation.