Shloka 1.10.21
ऋश्यशृङ्ग-आनयनम् (Bringing Ṛśyaśṛṅga to Aṅga and His Marriage to Śāntā)
तानि चास्वाद्य तेजस्वी फलानीति स्म मन्यते।अनास्वादितपूर्वाणि वने नित्यनिवासिनाम्।।।।
tāni cāsvādya tejasvī phalānīti sma manyate |
anāsvāditapūrvāṇi vane nityanivāsinām ||
Having tasted them, the radiant one thought, “These are fruits”—things never before tasted by those who dwell always in the forest.
The lustrous (Rsyasringa) who had never tasted any food other than what was offered by the permanent forest-dwellers mistook them for fruits.
It illustrates how limited experience can cloud discernment; dharma is protected by right understanding (viveka), not merely by environment.
Ṛśyaśṛṅga, unfamiliar with refined foods, misidentifies the sweets and delicacies as ordinary forest fruits.
Purity and guilelessness—he interprets new experiences through a simple, ascetic frame.