Shloka 13
Manoḥ Carita
The Account of Manu Vaivasvata and the Mātsyaka Flood Narrative
अन्वेषमाणा: सव्रीडा: स्वप्रवद्धतचेतना: । तानब्रवीत् तत्र मुनिस्ताक्ष्य: परपुरंजय,फिर तो वे लज्जित होकर इधर-उधर उसकी खोज करने लगे। स्वप्नकी भाँति उनकी चेतना लुप्त-सी हो गयी। तब मुनिवर अरिष्टनेमिने उनसे कहा--“परपुरंजय! तुम लोगोंने जिसे मार डाला था, वह यही ब्राह्मण तो नहीं है? राजाओ! यह मेरा तपोबलसम्पन्न पुत्र है!
anveṣamāṇāḥ savrīḍāḥ svapnavaddhata-cetanāḥ | tān abravīt tatra munis tākṣyaḥ parapuraṃjaya ||
Ashamed, they began searching for him here and there, their awareness dulled as if in a dream. Then the sage there addressed them: “O conquerors of enemy cities—was it not this very brāhmaṇa whom you struck down? O kings, this is my son, endowed with the power of austerity.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical shock that follows wrongful violence—especially against a brāhmaṇa—and underscores the reverence due to ascetics and those empowered by tapas. Remorse and recognition of wrongdoing are presented as the first steps toward restoring dharma.
After killing someone, the kings become ashamed and confused, searching as if in a dreamlike daze. A sage confronts them, asking whether the slain person is not this very brāhmaṇa, and reveals that the victim is his own son, possessed of great ascetic power.