Shloka 17
धृष्टद्युम्नेन समागतक्षत्रियगणगणना
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Enumeration of Assembled Kṣatriyas
ततः प्रतिनिवृत्त: स तया वध्वा सहानघ । कल्माषपादमासीनं ददर्श विजने वने,अनघ! तब वे अपनी पुत्रवधूके साथ आश्रमकी ओर लौटने लगे। इतनेमें ही मुनिने निर्जन वनमें बैठे हुए राजा कल्माषपादको देखा
tataḥ pratinivṛttaḥ sa tayā vadhvā sahānagha | kalmāṣapādam āsīnaṃ dadarśa vijane vane ||
Then, having turned back and proceeding together with that blameless daughter-in-law, he saw King Kalmāṣapāda seated in a lonely, deserted forest. The scene signals an impending moral encounter: a ruler, isolated in the wilderness, is about to be met by an ascetic household returning toward the āśrama—an intersection where restraint, duty, and the consequences of prior conduct are tested.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic test: when worldly power (a king) is found isolated in the forest, the meeting with an ascetic household invites reflection on restraint, right conduct, and how prior actions can lead to solitude and vulnerability.
The returning party, accompanied by a daughter-in-law, comes upon King Kalmāṣapāda sitting alone in a deserted forest, setting up the next development in the episode involving the king and the ascetic setting.