Shloka 10
The Description of Mohinī’s Love Episode
जीर्णोऽप्यजीर्णस्तव सौख्यवृद्धो वांछे इमां लोकवरां वरार्हाम् । संत्यज्य देवान्मम हेतुमागतामनंगबाणाभिहतां सुनेत्राम् ॥ १० ॥
jīrṇo'pyajīrṇastava saukhyavṛddho vāṃche imāṃ lokavarāṃ varārhām | saṃtyajya devānmama hetumāgatāmanaṃgabāṇābhihatāṃ sunetrām || 10 ||
Bien que je sois âgé, je me sens comme si je ne l’étais pas ; par toi, ma joie s’est accrue. Je désire la jeune fille la plus excellente et la plus digne du monde—Sunetrā—qui, frappée par les flèches de Kāma, est venue à moi comme la cause même de mon désir, allant jusqu’à délaisser les dieux.
A male suitor/king-like figure (narrative speaker within the Tirtha-Mahatmya episode; exact named speaker not explicit in this single verse)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shringara
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
The verse highlights how kāma (desire), personified by Kāma’s arrows, can overpower even age and status; it functions as a narrative warning that worldly longing can redirect one’s priorities away from higher dharma unless governed by discernment (viveka).
Indirectly, it contrasts worldly attachment with higher aims; in the Narada Purana’s broader devotional framework, such episodes remind the listener to turn the mind from sense-driven fascination toward steadiness and devotion to Vishnu, where lasting sukha is found.
No direct Vedanga instruction appears in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical psychology—recognizing the force of kāma and applying self-restraint (dama) and right judgment, which supports dharmic ritual life rather than undermining it.