Shloka 17
Uttanka’s Guru-Śuśrūṣā and the Commission to Retrieve the Maṇikuṇḍalas (उत्तङ्क-गुरुशुश्रूषा तथा मणिकुण्डल-आदेशः)
भीषण बद्धनिस्त्रिंशं बाणकार्मुकधारिणम् | तस्याध: स्रोतसो5पश्यद् वारि भूरि द्विजोत्तम:,वह देखनेमें बड़ा भयंकर था। उसने कमरमें तलवार बाँध रखी थी और हाथोंमें धनुष- बाण धारण किये थे। द्विजश्रेष्ठ उत्तंकने देखा--उसके नीचे पैरोंके समीप एक छिद्रसे प्रचुर जलकी धारा गिर रही है
bhīṣaṇa-baddha-nistriṁśaṁ bāṇa-kārmuka-dhāriṇam | tasyādhaḥ srotaso 'paśyad vāri bhūri dvijottamaḥ ||
Se veía sumamente terrible: llevaba la espada ceñida a la cintura y sostenía arco y flechas en las manos. Entonces Uttaṅka, el mejor de los nacidos dos veces, vio que por una abertura abajo, cerca de sus pies, se derramaba un caudal de agua abundante.
उत्तडुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how outward power and terror (weapons, fearsome appearance) can accompany hidden forces that sustain the world (the abundant water-stream). It invites discernment: dharma requires looking beyond appearances to perceive underlying realities and causes.
Uttaṅka describes seeing a frightening, armed figure with a sword at his waist and bow and arrows in hand. Uttaṅka then notices that a large flow of water is issuing from an opening beneath the figure, near his feet—an ominous and suggestive detail that points to a deeper, possibly supernatural context.