Shloka 9
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
(अप्रेषयति दुष्यन्ते महिष्यास्तनयस्य च । पाण्डुभावपरीताजुीं चिन्तया समभिप्लुताम् ।। लम्बालकां कृशां दीनां तथा मलिनवाससम् | शकुन्तलां च सम्प्रेक्ष्य प्रदध्यौ स मुनिस्तदा ।। शास्त्राणि सर्ववेदाश्च द्वादशाब्दस्य चाभवन् ।।) राजा दुष्यन्तने अपनी रानी और पुत्रको बुलानेके लिये जब किसी भी मनुष्यको नहीं भेजा, तब शकुन्तला चिन्तामग्न हो गयी। उसके सारे अंग सफेद पड़ने लगे। उसके खुले हुए लंबे केश लटक रहे थे, वस्त्र मैले हो गये थे, वह अत्यन्त दुर्बल और दीन दिखायी देती थी। शकुन्तलाको इस दयनीय दशामें देखकर कण्व मुनिने कुमार सर्वदमनके लिये विद्याका चिन्तन किया। इससे उस बारह वर्षके ही बालकके हृदयमें समस्त शास्त्रों और सम्पूर्ण वेदोंका ज्ञान प्रकाशित हो गया। त॑ कुमारमृषिर्दुष्टवा कर्म चास्यातिमानुषम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
apreṣayati duṣyante mahiṣyās tanayasya ca |
pāṇḍubhāvaparītāṃ ca cintayā samabhiplutām ||
lambālakāṃ kṛśāṃ dīnāṃ tathā malinavāsasam |
śakuntalāṃ ca samprekṣya pradhyāyau sa munis tadā ||
śāstrāṇi sarvavedāś ca dvādaśābdasya cābhavan ||
taṃ kumāram ṛṣir dṛṣṭvā karma cāsyātimānuṣam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: When King Duṣyanta did not send any messenger to summon his queen and his son, Śakuntalā became overwhelmed with anxious thought; her complexion turned pale. Her long hair hung loose, her garments grew soiled, and she appeared exceedingly thin and forlorn. Seeing Śakuntalā in this pitiable condition, the sage Kaṇva entered into contemplative concentration for the sake of the boy Sarvadamana; and, as a result, within that twelve-year-old child there arose the illumination of all śāstras and the entirety of the Vedas. Then the sage, seeing the boy and the superhuman nature of his deed, …
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts royal neglect with ascetic responsibility: when worldly authority fails to uphold relational and dynastic duty, the sage’s tapas and compassionate intervention safeguard the child’s future. It also frames true worth as grounded in inner illumination (knowledge and virtue) rather than immediate social recognition.
Duṣyanta does not send for Śakuntalā and their son, leaving her in distress and visible decline. Kaṇva, seeing her condition, meditates for the boy Sarvadamana, and through that spiritual act the child gains the radiance of comprehensive scriptural and Vedic knowledge; the sage then observes the boy’s superhuman capacity.