Shloka 2
वंशानुकीर्तनम् — Genealogical Recitation from Dakṣa to Yayāti and the Establishment of the Paurava Line
एक एवोत्तमबल: क्षुत्पिपासाश्रमान्वित: । स वनस्यान्तमासाद्य महच्छून्यं समासदत्,उस समय उत्तम बलसे युक्त महाराज दुष्यन्त अकेले ही थे तथा भूख, प्यास और थकावटसे शिथिल हो रहे थे। उस वनके दूसरे छोरमें पहुँचनेपर उन्हें एक बहुत बड़ा ऊसर मैदान मिला, जहाँ वृक्ष आदि नहीं थे
eka evottamabalaḥ kṣutpipāsāśramānvitaḥ | sa vanasyāntam āsādya mahacchūnyaṃ samāsadat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Endowed with excellent strength, yet afflicted by hunger, thirst, and fatigue, King Duṣyanta was all alone. Reaching the far end of the forest, he came upon a vast, empty, barren expanse devoid of trees—an outward sign of the hardship that tests a ruler’s endurance and steadiness of mind.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a ruler’s resilience: even one endowed with great strength must face hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and the ethical ideal is to remain steady and capable amid hardship rather than be ruled by bodily distress.
Duṣyanta, alone and worn by hunger, thirst, and fatigue, reaches the edge of a forest and comes upon a vast, desolate, treeless stretch of land, setting the scene for what follows in his journey.