Shloka 7
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
सच राजन् महातेजा ऋषिपुत्रस्तपो धन: । भार्यया सह तेजस्वी मृगरूपेण संगत:,राजन! उस मृगके रूपमें एक महातेजस्वी तपोधन ऋषिपुत्र थे, जो अपनी मृगीरूपधारिणी पत्नीके साथ तेजस्वी मृग बनकर समागम कर रहे थे
sa ca rājan mahātejā ṛṣiputras tapodhanaḥ | bhāryayā saha tejasvī mṛgarūpeṇa saṅgataḥ ||
And, O King, there was a son of a sage—rich in ascetic merit and blazing with spiritual power—who, together with his wife, had assumed the form of a deer. In that deer-form, the radiant pair were engaged in union, setting the scene for the moral tension between uncontrolled impulse, the sanctity of life, and the grave consequences of harming beings in such a state.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the idea that beings may carry hidden spiritual status even when appearing as animals; therefore, heedlessness and impulsive harm can lead to severe ethical and karmic consequences. It also hints at the tension between desire and restraint, and how actions taken without discernment can trigger far-reaching outcomes.
Vaiśaṃpāyana tells the king that a powerful ascetic—an ṛṣi’s son—along with his wife, had taken deer-form and were engaged in union. This detail prepares the narrative for an ensuing incident where such a pair may be mistaken for ordinary animals, leading to a consequential act and its aftermath.