Shloka 43
Adhyāya 227: Duryodhana’s Deliberation and the Ghoṣa-yātrā Pretext
Dvaita-vana
संगम्य षड्भि: पत्नीभि: सप्तर्षीणामिति सम ह | उस चैत्ररथ नामक वनमें जो लोग निवास करते थे, वे कहने लगे, “अग्निने सप्तर्षियोंकी छः पत्नियोंक साथ समागम करके हमलोगोंपर यह बहुत बड़ा अनर्थ लाद दिया है”
saṅgamya ṣaḍbhiḥ patnībhiḥ saptarṣīṇām iti sma ha | tatra caitraratha-nāmaka-vane ye janāḥ nyavasan te prāhuḥ—“agninā saptarṣīṇāṃ ṣaṭ-patnībhiḥ saha saṅgamaṃ kṛtvā asmāsu ayaṃ mahān anarthaḥ āropitaḥ” iti |
Markandeya said: In that forest called Caitraratha, the residents began to speak among themselves: “Agni, having consorted with six of the Seven Sages’ wives, has brought upon us a grave calamity.” The remark frames the act as a moral transgression whose consequences spill beyond the immediate offenders, burdening an entire community with disorder and fear.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma—especially uncontrolled desire and breach of marital/social boundaries—can generate anartha (grave harm) that spreads beyond the individuals involved, disturbing the wider community and moral order.
In the Caitraratha forest, the local residents react to the report that Agni has consorted with six wives of the Seven Sages. They interpret this act as the cause of a looming or present calamity affecting them all.