Shloka 5
Jaradkāru Encounters the Pitṛs
Jaratkāru-Pitṛdarśana
कृश उवाच स राजा मृगयां यात: परिक्षिदभिमन्युज: । ससार मृगमेकाकी विद्ध्वा बाणेन शीघ्रगम्,कृशने कहा--अभिमम्युपुत्र राजा परीक्षित् अकेले शिकार खेलने आये थे। उन्होंने एक शीघ्रगामी हिंसक मृग (पशु)-को बाणसे बींध डाला; किंतु उस विशाल वनमें विचरते हुए राजाको वह मृग कहीं दिखायी न दिया। फिर उन्होंने तुम्हारे मौनी पिताको देखकर उसके विषयमें पूछा
kṛśa uvāca sa rājā mṛgayāṃ yātaḥ parīkṣid abhimanyujaḥ | sasāra mṛgam ekākī viddhvā bāṇena śīghragam |
Kṛśa said: King Parīkṣit, the son of Abhimanyu, once went out hunting. Alone, he pursued a swift-moving deer and struck it with an arrow; yet as he roamed through that vast forest, the wounded animal could not be seen. Then, seeing your silent, vow-observing father, the king asked him about it.
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical tension between royal pursuit (hunting and exertion of power) and ascetic restraint (silence and vows). It foreshadows how impulsive action and frustration in a ruler can lead to morally significant consequences when interacting with a sage.
King Parīkṣit goes hunting alone, shoots a swift deer, but loses sight of it in the forest. He then encounters the listener’s silent, vow-keeping father (a maunī) and asks him about the wounded animal.