Shloka 8
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्तं तर्कयामास वै नृपम् । पतितं पातनं संख्ये शात्रवाणां महीतले
kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntaṃ tarkayāmāsa vai nṛpam | patitaṃ pātanaṃ saṅkhye śātravāṇāṃ mahītale ||
Al ver al rey tendido y caído en el suelo—él que en la batalla solía derribar las filas enemigas—el Gandharva dedujo que el soberano estaba ahora exhausto, abatido por el hambre y la sed. El verso subraya que aun el poderoso puede ser doblegado por la necesidad del cuerpo, y que la observación cuidadosa conduce a un juicio humano y ético, no al desprecio del adversario vencido.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and martial prowess do not exempt anyone from basic human limits; ethical judgment should be guided by attentive understanding of circumstances (here, hunger, thirst, and fatigue) rather than by triumphalism over someone who has fallen.
The Gandharva observes a king lying fallen on the ground—formerly a formidable subduer of enemies in battle—and concludes that the king’s collapse is due to hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.