Shloka 38
Cyavana’s Yogic Display and Kuśika’s Recognition of Tapas (च्यवन-योगप्रभावः कुशिकस्य तपःप्रशंसा च)
(अत्यन्तापदि मग्नानां परित्राणं हि कुर्वताम् । या गतिर्विदिता त्वद्य नरके शरणं भवान् ।।
cayavana uvāca | kṛpaṇasya ca yac cakṣur muneś ca śīviṣasya ca | naraṃ samūlaṃ dahati kakṣam agnir iva jvalan ||
Cayavana dit : « Ô Niṣādas, le regard courroucé d’un malheureux sans défense, celui d’un sage, et celui d’un serpent venimeux brûle un homme jusqu’à la racine, comme un feu flamboyant dévore un fourré d’herbes sèches. »
च्यवन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not injure or contemptuously provoke the helpless, the spiritually accomplished, or dangerous beings; their wrath (symbolized by the ‘glance’) can bring complete destruction. The ethical lesson is restraint, compassion, and reverence for moral and ascetic power.
Cayavana delivers a warning statement: certain beings—an afflicted person, a sage, and a venomous serpent—can be devastating when angered. He illustrates this with a simile of blazing fire consuming dry brush, emphasizing the immediacy and totality of the consequence.