Shloka 71
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
दृष्टवैव स च तां धीमांश्नकमे चारुहासिनीम् । दिव्यां तां वासवीं कन्यां रम्भोरुं मुनिपुड़व:,उसकी हँसी बड़ी मोहक थी, उसकी जाँघें कदलीकी-सी शोभा धारण करती थीं। उस दिव्य वसुकुमारीको देखकर परम बुद्धिमान् मुनिवर पराशरने उसके साथ समागमकी इच्छा प्रकट की
dṛṣṭvaiva sa ca tāṃ dhīmān śyāmakāṃ cāru-hāsinīm | divyāṃ tāṃ vāsavīṃ kanyāṃ rambhoruṃ munipuṅgavaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: As soon as the eminent sage beheld her—dark-hued, with an enchanting smile, and with thighs likened to the plantain—he recognized her as a radiant maiden of celestial lineage. Struck by her beauty, the supremely intelligent seer Parāśara expressed a desire to unite with her. The passage frames a moment where ascetic authority and desire intersect, raising ethical tension around consent, restraint, and the responsibilities of a sage when confronted by attraction.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical friction between a sage’s spiritual stature and human desire. It invites reflection on self-restraint (dama), responsible conduct of those in authority, and the moral importance of how desire is expressed and negotiated—especially when power asymmetry is present.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the sage Parāśara sees a beautiful, dark-hued maiden with a captivating smile and describes her with conventional poetic epithets. Moved by attraction, he expresses the wish for sexual union with her, setting up the ensuing dialogue and events of this episode.