Shloka 68
Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)
वामदेव उवाच संस्पृश्यैनां महिषी सायकेन ततस्तस्मादेनसो मोक्ष्यसे त्वम् । ततस्तथा कृतवान् पार्थिवस्तु ततो मुनि राजपुत्री बभाषे,वामदेवजीने कहा--राजन्! तुम इस बाणसे अपनी रानीका स्पर्श कर लेनेपर ब्रह्महत्याके पापसे छूट जाओगे। तब राजाने ऐसा ही किया। तदनन्तर राजपुत्रीने मुनिसे कहा
vāmadeva uvāca saṃspṛśyaināṃ mahiṣī sāyakena tatastasmādenaso mokṣyase tvam | tatastathā kṛtavān pārthivastu tato muni rājaputrī babhāṣe |
Vāmadeva said, “O king, if you touch your queen with this arrow, you will be released from that sin.” The king did exactly as instructed. Thereafter, the princess addressed the sage. The episode frames a ritual-ethical remedy: the king seeks expiation for grave wrongdoing, and the sage prescribes a symbolic act meant to sever the taint of sin and restore the king’s standing in dharma.
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grave moral taint (enasa) is not treated as irreversible: restoration to dharma is sought through guided expiation under a qualified sage. The verse emphasizes obedience to wise counsel and the idea that symbolic, rule-governed acts can function as ethical-ritual remedies within the epic’s moral universe.
Sage Vāmadeva instructs a king that touching his queen with an arrow will free him from a particular sin. The king follows the instruction, and then the princess speaks to the sage, indicating the story is moving to her response or further clarification of the ethical situation.