Mahabharata 1.69.19 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 69, Shloka 19
Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)
मृगसिंहैर्व॒तं घोरैरन्यैश्वापि वनेचरै: । तद् वन॑ मनुजव्याघ्र: सभृत्ययलवाहन:
mṛgasiṁhair vṛtaṁ ghorair anyaiś cāpi vanecaraiḥ | tad vanaṁ manujavyāghraḥ sabhṛtyayalavāhanaḥ ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: Hutan itu penuh sesak oleh binatang-binatang mengerikan—rusa, singa, dan makhluk liar lainnya. Maka Raja Duṣyanta, harimau di antara manusia, memasuki rimba itu bersama para pengiring, pasukan, dan tunggangannya; ia menerobos belantara sambil memburu satwa buas. Di sana banyak harimau yang masuk jangkauan anak panahnya ia jatuhkan ke tanah.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the king as a protector who confronts dangerous wilderness; it reflects kṣatriya ideals of courage and control over threats, while implicitly raising the ethical question of how power and violence should be exercised under dharma.
The narrator describes a fearsome forest full of wild beasts and depicts the king (Duṣyanta, per the surrounding passage) entering with his retinue and mounts to hunt and subdue the dangerous animals.
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