Shloka 55
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
गिरिकाया: प्रयच्छाशु तस्या हागर्तवमद्य वै । गृहीत्वा तत् तदा श्येनस्तूर्णमुत्पत्य वेगवान्
girikāyāḥ prayacchāśu tasyā hāgartavam adya vai | gṛhītvā tat tadā śyenastūrṇam utpatya vegavān |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「急いでそれをギリカーのもとへ届けよ。まさに今日こそ、彼女のふさわしい時なのだ。」その（種）を受け取ると、敏捷で力強い鷹はただちに舞い上がり、慌ただしく飛び去った。物語の流れでは、ダルマとアルタの微妙な理を見抜くヴァス王が、男子を得るための真言で加持した自らの精を、時機を失わぬよう王妃ギリカーへ運ばせるべく鷹に託し、時宜にかなう義務、血統、そしてダルマの枠内で統御される欲望への叙事詩の関心を示している。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores acting in accordance with dharma through right timing and regulated conduct: even intimate aims like progeny are pursued through lawful means, attention to the proper season (ṛtukāla), and ritual propriety, reflecting the epic’s linkage of personal desire to social and dynastic responsibility.
A hawk (śyena) is commanded to swiftly deliver King Vasu’s semen—prepared for conception—to Queen Girikā because it is her fertile time that very day; the hawk takes it and immediately flies off at great speed.