Shloka 68
और्वोपाख्यानम्
Aurva Episode: Restoration of Sight and Restraint of World-Destructive Anger
स्त्रीसकाशे च कौरव्य न पुमान् क्षन्तुमरहति | धर्षणामात्मन: पश्यन् बाहुद्रविणमाश्रित:,कुरुनन्दन! इसका कारण यह है कि अपने बाहुबलका भरोसा रखनेवाला कोई भी पुरुष जब स्त्रीके समीप अपना तिरस्कार होता देखता है, तब उसे सहन नहीं कर पाता
strīsakāśe ca kauravya na pumān kṣantum arhati | dharṣaṇām ātmanaḥ paśyan bāhudraviṇam āśritaḥ ||
Dijo el Gandharva: «Oh Kauravya, no puede esperarse que un hombre soporte la humillación en presencia de una mujer. Quien se apoya en la riqueza de sus propios brazos —su fuerza y su destreza—, al verse insultado junto a una mujer, no puede resistirlo.»
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a social-ethical psychology of honor: a warrior who grounds his identity in strength finds public humiliation—especially before a woman—intolerable, making restraint difficult and conflict more likely.
A Gandharva addresses a Kuru prince, explaining why a strong man cannot easily tolerate being slighted in a woman’s presence—an explanation that frames the emotional and honor-based pressures driving the confrontation in this episode.