Shloka 50

Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ

King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt

Devanagari script

स्कन्नमात्रं च तद्‌ रेतो वृक्षपत्रेण भूमिप: । प्रतिजग्राह मिथ्या मे न पतेद्‌ रेत इत्युत,उसके स्खलित होते ही राजाने यह सोचकर कि मेरा वीर्य व्यर्थ न जाय, उसे वृक्षके पत्तेपर उठा लिया

Transliteration

skannamātraṃ ca tad reto vṛkṣapatreṇa bhūmipaḥ | pratijagrāha mithyā me na pated reto ity uta ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: As soon as that semen was discharged, the king quickly caught it upon a leaf of a tree, thinking, “Let my seed not fall in vain.” The episode underscores a ruler’s intense concern for lineage and the perceived duty to preserve generative potency, even in a moment of loss of control, framing procreation as a matter of responsibility rather than mere impulse.

Word by Word

स्कन्नमात्रम्just fallen (only as much as had slipped)

चand

तत्that

रेतःsemen

वृक्षपत्रेणwith a tree-leaf

भूमिपःthe king

प्रतिजग्राहtook up, received

मिथ्याin vain, fruitlessly

मेof me / my

नnot

पतेत्may fall

रेतःsemen

इतिthus

उतindeed / and

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

bhūmipa (the king)

retaḥ (semen/seed)

vṛkṣapatra (tree leaf)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes