Shloka 14
Karṇa’s Counsel on Śrī
Fortune) and the Proposed Display before the Exiled Pāṇḍavas (कर्णवचनम् / श्रीप्रदर्शन-प्रस्तावः
पत्नीसरूपतां कृत्वा कामयामास पावकम् | दिव्यरूपमरुन्धत्या: कर्तु न शकितं तया
patnīsarūpatāṁ kṛtvā kāmayāmāsa pāvakam | divyarūpam aruṇdhatyāḥ kartuṁ na śakitaṁ tayā ||
Mārkaṇḍeya dit : Ayant pris les formes des épouses des sages, elle désira s’unir à Agni. Mais elle ne put revêtir la forme divine d’Arundhatī, car l’austérité d’Arundhatī et son service fidèle envers son époux rendaient cette forme inaccessible. Ainsi, elle ne réussit que six fois à recevoir et à déposer là la semence d’Agni—Arundhatī seule demeurant, par la puissance de son dharma, hors d’atteinte de toute imitation.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that genuine virtue—especially Arundhatī’s tapas and steadfast devotion to dharma—creates a spiritual power that cannot be replicated by mere external imitation. Ethical strength rooted in disciplined conduct becomes a protective force.
A woman attempts to approach Agni by taking on the forms of the wives of the Seven Sages. She can imitate six of them, but she cannot assume Arundhatī’s divine form because Arundhatī’s austerity and devoted service to her husband make her spiritually inimitable; thus the attempt succeeds only six times.