Shloka 16
ययातेर्वानप्रस्थतपःस्वर्गारोहणम् | Yayāti’s Vānaprastha Austerities and Ascent to Heaven
ययातिरुवाच मृगलिप्सुरहं भद्रे पानीयार्थमुपागत: । बहुधाप्यनुयुक्तो5स्मि तदनुज्ञातुमहसि,ययातिने कहा--भटद्रे! मैं एक हिंसक पशुको मारनेके लिये उसका पीछा कर रहा था, इससे बहुत थक गया हूँ और पानी पीनेके लिये यहाँ आया हूँ। अत: अब मुझे आज्ञा दीजिये
yayātir uvāca mṛgalipsur ahaṃ bhadre pānīyārtham upāgataḥ | bahudhāpy anuyukto 'smi tad anujñātum arhasi ||
Yayāti said: “O noble lady, I have come here seeking water. I was in pursuit of a wild animal to kill it, and I am exhausted. Though I have been questioned in many ways, you ought now to grant me leave (to drink and proceed).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between a kṣatriya-like pursuit (hunting/violence toward game) and the immediate human need for water, framed through respectful speech and the request for permission—hinting at norms of restraint, propriety, and hospitality even amid exertion.
Yayāti addresses a woman respectfully as ‘bhadre’ and explains that he has come for drinking water after tiring himself while chasing a wild animal to kill it; having been questioned repeatedly, he asks her to allow him to proceed (implicitly, to drink and continue).