Shloka 16
पराशरस्य राक्षससत्रनिवृत्तिः | Paraśara’s Rakṣasa-Satra and Its Cessation
अन्तर्गतं विशालाक्षि विध्यति सम पतत्त्रिभि: । मन्मथाग्निसमुद्धूतं दाहं कमललोचने,“मैं सर्वथा तुम्हारे अधीन हूँ, मुझपर प्रसन्न हो जाओ। महानुभावे! मुझ भक्तको अंगीकार करो। वरारोहे! विशाल नेत्रोंवाली अंगने! जबसे मैंने तुम्हें देखा है, तभीसे कामदेव मेरे अन्तः:करणको अपने बाणोंद्वारा घायल कर रहा है। कमललोचने! तुम प्रेमपूर्वक समागमके जलसे मेरे कामाग्निजनित दाहको बुझाकर मुझे आह्वाद प्रदान करो। कल्याणि! तुम्हारे दर्शनसे उत्पन्न हुआ कामदेव फूलोंके आयुध लेकर भी अत्यन्त दुर्धर्ष हो रहा है। उसके धनुष और बाण दोनों ही बड़े प्रचण्ड हैं। वह अपने दुस्सह बाणोंसे मुझे बींध रहा है। महानुभावे! तुम आत्मदान देकर मेरे उस कामको शान्त करो
antargataṃ viśālākṣi vidhyati saṃ patattribhiḥ | manmathāgnisamuddhūtaṃ dāhaṃ kamalalocane ||
The Gandharva says: “O wide-eyed lady, Kāma pierces my very inner being with his arrows. O lotus-eyed one, the burning heat stirred up by the fire of desire consumes me.” In the narrative context, this is a plea of passionate longing: the speaker frames his attraction as an overpowering force (Kāma) that wounds and inflames him, seeking the woman’s consent and union as the remedy. Ethically, the verse foregrounds the tension between desire’s compulsion and the need for rightful, willing acceptance in relationships.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how desire is portrayed as an externalized force (Kāma) that can overwhelm the mind and body; ethically, it invites reflection on mastering passion and on the necessity that union be grounded in the other person’s willing acceptance rather than mere compulsion of feeling.
A Gandharva addresses a woman with affectionate epithets (“wide-eyed,” “lotus-eyed”), confessing that Kāma’s arrows have wounded him inwardly and that the fire of desire burns him, thereby pleading for her favor and closeness as relief.