Shloka 20
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
राजन! तदनन्तर वे भूखसे पीड़ित हुए राक्षस उन सभी कृपालु मुनियोंसे बारंबार हाथ जोड़कर कहने लगे--“महात्माओ! हम भूखे हैं। सनातन धर्मसे भ्रष्ट हो गये हैं ।। न च न: कामकारो<यं यद् वयं पापकारिण: । युष्माकं चाप्रसादेन दुष्कृतेन च कर्मणा
naca naḥ kāmakāro 'yaṃ yad vayaṃ pāpakāriṇaḥ | yuṣmākaṃ cāprasādena duṣkṛtena ca karmaṇā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, thereafter those rākṣasas, tormented by hunger, repeatedly bowed with joined palms to all the compassionate sages and said: ‘Great-souled ones, we are hungry. We have fallen away from the eternal dharma. It is not truly by our free choice that we have become doers of sin; rather, through the sages’ displeasure and through our own evil deeds, we have come to this wretched condition.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality: suffering is linked to prior wrongdoing (duṣkṛta-karma) and to the loss of the wise persons’ favor (aprasāda). It also shows a movement toward accountability and repentance—recognizing that deviation from sanātana-dharma leads to degradation and distress.
After being afflicted by hunger, the rākṣasas approach the compassionate sages with folded hands. They confess their fallen state and explain that their sinful condition is tied to both their misdeeds and the sages’ displeasure, seeking relief or guidance.