Shloka 1
ययातेर्वानप्रस्थतपःस्वर्गारोहणम् | Yayāti’s Vānaprastha Austerities and Ascent to Heaven
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ५६ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ३२३ “लोक हैं) नफमशा (0) अमन न एकाशीतितमो< ध्याय: सखियोंसहित देवयानी और शर्मिष्ठाका वन-विहार
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: atha dīrghasya kālasya devayānī nṛpottama | vanaṃ tadeva niryātā krīḍārthaṃ varavarṇinī ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「王の中の最勝者よ、長き時が過ぎたのち、肌も輝くデーヴァヤーニーは、遊興のために再びあの同じ森へと出かけた。」この偈は静かな情景を据え、日常の遊びと何気ない歩みが、やがて運命と道徳的帰結を王家と一族の物語へ招き入れる門となることを示唆する。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even seemingly ordinary actions—like going for recreation—can become the starting point of major ethical and karmic developments; the epic often frames destiny and dharma as entering through everyday moments.
The narrator states that after a long interval Devayānī goes again to the same forest for amusement, setting the scene for the subsequent encounter and events of the Yayāti–Devayānī narrative.