Shloka 8
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्तं तर्कयामास वै नृपम् । पतितं पातनं संख्ये शात्रवाणां महीतले
kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntaṃ tarkayāmāsa vai nṛpam | patitaṃ pātanaṃ saṅkhye śātravāṇāṃ mahītale ||
भूख-प्यास से पीड़ित और थका हुआ, शत्रुओं की सेनाओं को रण में पृथ्वी पर गिराने वाला वही नरेश जब भूमि पर गिरा पड़ा दिखा, तो गन्धर्व ने अनुमान किया कि यह अब क्षुधा-तृषा से अत्यन्त क्लान्त हो गया है।
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and martial prowess do not exempt anyone from basic human limits; ethical judgment should be guided by attentive understanding of circumstances (here, hunger, thirst, and fatigue) rather than by triumphalism over someone who has fallen.
The Gandharva observes a king lying fallen on the ground—formerly a formidable subduer of enemies in battle—and concludes that the king’s collapse is due to hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.