Shloka 28
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
अहं हि किंदमो नाम तपसा भावितो मुनि: । व्यपत्रपन्मनुष्याणां मृग्यां मैथुनमाचरम्,मेरा नाम किंदम है। मैं तपस्यामें संलग्न रहनेवाला मुनि हूँ, अतः मनुष्योंमें--मानव- शरीरसे यह काम करनेमें मुझे लज्जाका अनुभव हो रहा था। इसीलिये मृग बनकर अपनी मृगीके साथ मैथुन कर रहा था। मैं प्रायः इसी रूपमें मृगोंके साथ घने वनमें विचरता रहता हूँ। तुम्हें मुझे मारनेसे ब्रह्महत्या तो नहीं लगेगी; क्योंकि तुम यह बात नहीं जानते थे (कि यह मुनि है)
ahaṃ hi kiṃdamo nāma tapasā bhāvito muniḥ | vyapatrapan manuṣyāṇāṃ mṛgyāṃ maithunam ācaram |
“I am the sage named Kiṃdama, refined by austerities. Feeling ashamed to engage in sexual union in a human body among people, I assumed the form of a deer and practiced mating with my doe.”
मृग उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between ascetic ideals and human desire: even a tapasvin may seek intimacy, yet feels moral-social shame in doing so openly in human form. It also prepares the moral frame for unintended harm—actions done in ignorance can still carry grave consequences, urging restraint and discernment.
The speaker, a deer, reveals he is actually the sage Kiṃdama. He explains that out of shame to mate in a human body among people, he took the form of a deer and mated with a doe—setting the context for why a hunter/king might mistake him for an ordinary animal.