Shloka 60
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
जग्राह तरसोपेत्य साद्रिका मत्स्यरूपिणी । कदाचिदपि मत्सीं तां बबन्धुर्मत्स्यजीविन:
jagrāha tarasopetya sādrikā matsyarūpiṇī | kadācid api matsīṁ tāṁ babandhur matsyajīvinaḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。魚の姿となったアドリカーは、たちまち前へ躍り出てそれを奪い取った。のちに、漁を生業とする漁夫たちがその魚を網にかけて縛り、腹を割くと、中から人の子が二人—娘と息子—現れた。かくしてヤムナーの水のうちに、欲と宿命の奇なる帰結が顕れたのである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode underscores how actions and impulses can yield unforeseen results, and how destiny (often mediated through curses and transformations) can redirect even morally ambiguous events into the unfolding of a larger lineage and cosmic plan.
Adrikā, an apsaras cursed to live as a fish, quickly swallows the fallen seed; later fishermen catch that fish, and upon cutting it open they discover two infants—a girl and a boy—setting up the origin story connected with later dynastic developments.