Shloka 8
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
नानागुल्मलताच्छन्न॑ नानाद्रुमसमावृतम् | अरण्यं घोरसंनादं शापग्रस्त: परिभ्रमन्,अनेक प्रकारकी लताओं तथा गुल्मोंसे आच्छादित और विविध प्रकारके वृक्षोंसे आवृत वह (गहन) वन भयंकर शब्दोंसे गूँजता रहता था। शापग्रस्त राजा कल्माषपाद उसीमें भ्रमण करने लगे
nānā-gulma-latācchannaṁ nānā-druma-samāvṛtam | araṇyaṁ ghora-saṁnādaṁ śāpa-grastaḥ paribhraman ||
The forest was overgrown—covered with many kinds of shrubs and creepers and enclosed by diverse trees—and it resounded with dreadful sounds. There, the king Kalmāṣapāda, afflicted by a curse, wandered about. The scene underscores how a curse (born of adharma or a lapse) drives a ruler from ordered kingship into fearful, lawless wilderness, turning royal power into suffering and aimless roaming.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
A curse symbolizes the moral and karmic consequences of wrongdoing: when dharma is violated, even a king can lose stability and protection, becoming driven into fear and disorder. The wilderness imagery reflects inner and outer disintegration caused by adharma.
A Gandharva describes a terrifying, densely overgrown forest echoing with dreadful sounds, where the cursed king Kalmāṣapāda roams aimlessly, indicating his fall from royal order into a perilous, uncontrolled state.