Shloka 1.63.9
विश्वामित्रस्य तपोविघ्नः, मेनकाप्रसङ्गः, महर्षिपदप्रदानम् (Visvamitra’s Austerity Obstructed; Menaka Episode; Conferment of Maharshi Status)
अथ काले गते तस्मिन्विश्वामित्रो महामुनि:।सव्रीड इव सम्वृत्तश्चिन्ताशोकपरायण:।।।।
rambhām apsarasaṃ śakraḥ saha sarvair marudgaṇaiḥ | uvāca ātmahitaṃ vākyam ahitaṃ kauśikasya ca ||
Śakra (Indra), together with all the hosts of the Maruts, spoke to the Apsaras Rambhā—words for his own advantage and for the harm of Kauśika (Viśvāmitra).
As the period passed, Viswamitra the mighty ascetic was filled with grief, anxiety andremorse.
Dharma critique of self-interest: speech driven by personal gain (ātma-hita) that intends another’s harm (ahita) is ethically compromised, even if spoken by a powerful deity.
Indra, with the Maruts, plans to disrupt Viśvāmitra’s tapas by deploying Rambhā as a temptation.
The verse foregrounds a lack of virtue—political expediency over righteousness—setting up the ethical tension between ascetic striving and divine insecurity.