Shloka 9
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
ब्राह्मण उवाच विदेशस्थो विलोकस्थो विना नूनं सुहृज्जनै: । विषयानतुलान् भुड्क्षे तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
brāhmaṇa uvāca | videśastho vilokastho vinā nūnaṃ suhṛjjanaiḥ | viṣayān atulān bhuṅkṣe tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
Le brāhmane dit : «Assurément tu vis en pays étranger, parmi des inconnus, séparé de ton cercle de bienveillants. Tu jouis d’objets des sens sans pareils ; c’est pourquoi, tel un cerf, tu t’es amaigri : ta pâleur et ta maigreur trahissent le tourment d’une inquiétude intérieure.»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical insight: separation from supportive, virtuous companionship and immersion in alluring sense-pleasures often produces inner unrest. External enjoyment can coexist with (and even mask) anxiety, which shows itself as decline in vitality—hence the image of becoming ‘deer-like’ and thin.
A Brahmin addresses the other party (contextually treated as a rākṣasa in the Gita Press rendering), observing that he lives away from his well-wishers among strangers and indulges in exceptional enjoyments. The Brahmin infers from his emaciated, pale condition that worry or mental strain is consuming him despite outward pleasures.