Shloka 17
अपूर्वमिव पश्याम उदकं नात्र नीयत इत्यथामात्यो5नुदकं वनं कारयित्वोदारवृक्ष॑ं बहुपुष्य-फलमूलं तस्य मध्ये मुक्ताजालमयीं पार्श्व वापी गूढां सुधासलिललिप्तां स रहस्युपगम्य राजान-मब्रवीत्,“हमें यहाँ एक अद्भुत-सी बात दिखायी देती है। महाराजके अन्तःपुरमें पानी नहीं जाने पाता है। (हमलोग इसीकी चौकसी करती हैं।)” उनकी यह बात सुनकर प्रधान मन्त्रीने एक बाग लगवाया, जिसमें प्रत्यक्षरूपसे कोई जलाशय नहीं था। उसमें बड़े सुन्दर और ऊँचे- ऊँचे वृक्ष लगवाये गये थे। वहाँ फल-फूल और कन्द-मूलकी भी बहुतायत थी। उस उपवनके मध्यभागमें एक किनारेकी ओर सुधाके समान स्वच्छ जलसे भरी हुई एक बावली भी बनवायी थी, जो मोतियोंके जालसे निर्मित थी। उस बावलीको (लताओंद्वारा) बाहरसे ढक दिया गया था। उस उद्यानके तैयार हो जानेपर मन्त्रीने किसी दिन राजासे मिलकर कहा--
vaiśampāyana uvāca | apūrvam iva paśyāma udakaṃ nātra nīyate ity athāmātyo 'nudakaṃ vanaṃ kārayitvodāravṛkṣaṃ bahupuṣya-phala-mūlaṃ tasya madhye muktājālamayīṃ pārśva-vāpīṃ gūḍhāṃ sudhāsalila-liptāṃ sa rahasy upagamya rājānam abravīt |
Vaiśampāyana said: “We observe something quite unprecedented: water cannot be brought into the king’s inner apartments.” Hearing this report, the chief minister had a grove constructed that appeared to have no water-source at all. He planted tall, splendid trees, and ensured an abundance of flowers, fruits, and edible roots and tubers. Yet within that garden, to one side, he secretly made a stepwell filled with water as clear as nectar, adorned as though with a net of pearls and concealed from view. When the garden was ready, the minister approached the king in private and spoke—setting in motion a careful, discreet plan that balances royal security with practical governance.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Effective governance often requires discretion and practical ingenuity: the minister responds to a sensitive palace constraint by creating a concealed yet functional solution, protecting royal privacy and security while meeting essential needs.
A report arises that water cannot be brought into the king’s inner quarters. The chief minister then builds a garden that seems waterless but secretly contains a pearl-adorned stepwell of clear water, and he privately informs the king once the arrangement is complete.