Shloka 16
Khāṇḍava-dāha: Indra’s Countermeasures and the Nāga Aśvasena’s Escape (आदि पर्व, अध्याय २१८)
अब्रवीत् पुरुषव्याप्र: प्रहसन्निव भारत । वनेचरस्य किमिदं कामेनालोड्यते मन:,फिर वे पुरुषोतम हँसते हुए-से बोले--“भारत! यह क्या, वनवासीका मन भी इस तरह कामसे उन्मथित हो रहा है?
abravīt puruṣavyāghraḥ prahasann iva bhārata | vanecarasya kim idaṃ kāmenāloḍyate manaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then that tiger among men, as if smiling, spoke: “O Bhārata, what is this? Is even the mind of a forest-dweller being churned and agitated by desire?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between an ascetic/forest life and the universal force of kāma (desire): even one living in restraint can have the mind disturbed, implying the need for vigilance and self-mastery rather than mere external renunciation.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that a heroic man, smiling as if amused, addresses the listener and remarks on the surprising fact that a forest-dweller’s mind is being stirred by desire, setting a tone of gentle irony and moral observation.