Shloka 8
धृतराष्ट्र–दुर्योधन संवादः
Vāraṇāvata-vivāsana-nīti: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana’s Policy Dialogue
तामेकवसनां दृष्टवा गौतमो5प्सरसं वने । लोके<प्रतिमसंस्थानां प्रोत्फूल्लनयनो5भवत्
tām ekavasanāṃ dṛṣṭvā gautamo ’psarasaṃ vane | loke ’pratima-saṃsthānāṃ protphullanayano ’bhavat ||
વનમાં એક જ વસ્ત્ર ધારણ કરેલી, લોકમાં અપ્રતિમ દેહસૌંદર્ય ધરાવતી તે અપ્સરાને જોઈ ગૌતમની આંખો આનંદથી ખીલી ઊઠી.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical pressure-point in dharma literature: even a sage’s senses can be stirred by beauty, so self-restraint (saṃyama) is not merely assumed but continually tested—especially in solitude and liminal spaces like the forest.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Gautama encounters an apsaras in the forest, dressed in a single garment and of incomparable beauty; on seeing her, his eyes brighten with delight, indicating the onset of attraction and the narrative’s impending conflict between ascetic discipline and desire.