Shloka 8
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्तं तर्कयामास वै नृपम् । पतितं पातनं संख्ये शात्रवाणां महीतले
kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntaṃ tarkayāmāsa vai nṛpam | patitaṃ pātanaṃ saṅkhye śātravāṇāṃ mahītale ||
戦場でかつて敵の陣列を打ち倒してきた王が、いまは地に伏しているのを見て、ガンダルヴァは、王は飢えと渇きにより疲れ果て、力尽きたのだと推し量った。この詩句は、いかに剛なる者も身体の欲求によって低くされ得ること、そして慎重な観察が、倒れた敵への侮りではなく、人間味と倫理を帯びた判断へ導くことを示す。
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and martial prowess do not exempt anyone from basic human limits; ethical judgment should be guided by attentive understanding of circumstances (here, hunger, thirst, and fatigue) rather than by triumphalism over someone who has fallen.
The Gandharva observes a king lying fallen on the ground—formerly a formidable subduer of enemies in battle—and concludes that the king’s collapse is due to hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.