Shloka 18
Bhaṅgāśvanopākhyāna — On comparative affection in strī–puruṣa union (भङ्गाश्वनोपाख्यानम्)
अथोवाच स राजर्षि: स्त्रीभूतो वदतां वर:
atho'vāca sa rājarṣiḥ strībhūto vadatāṁ varaḥ | tatra strīrūpadhārī vaktṝṇāṁ śreṣṭho rājarṣiḥ bhaṅgāsvana uvāca — “ahaṁ svayā senayā parivṛtaḥ mṛgayāṁ kartuṁ nirgataḥ; kintu daivapreritena bhrāntacittena bhayānakaṁ vanaṁ praviṣṭavān.”
ビーシュマは言った。すると、その王仙は——女へと変じ、語りの最勝者として——口を開いた。そこにて、女の姿を帯びた王仙バンガースヴァナは宣言した。「私は自軍に囲まれて狩猟に出た。だが運命の促しにより心は惑い、恐るべき森へと迷い込んだのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral causality: royal power and intention do not guarantee right outcomes when the mind becomes confused; ‘daiva’ (fate/divine dispensation) and inner delusion can divert one into danger. It prepares the ethical reflection that actions like hunting and indulgence, when joined with heedlessness, can lead to unforeseen consequences and a turning point in one’s dharmic life.
Bhishma introduces the speech of the royal sage Bhangasvana, who is presently in a woman’s form. Bhangasvana begins recounting how, while going out to hunt surrounded by his troops, he became mentally bewildered under the influence of fate and wandered into a frightening forest—setting up the events that follow in his story.