Shloka 13
Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā
Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants
अष्टपादूर्ध्नयन: शरभो वनगोचर: । तं सिंहं हन्तुमागच्छन्मुनेस्तस्य निवेशनम्
aṣṭapādūrdhvanayanaḥ śarabho vanagocaraḥ | taṃ siṃhaṃ hantum āgacchan munes tasya niveśanam |
ビーシュマは語った。「八つの脚をもち、眼が上方を向くという異様なシャラバ（śarabha）――森をさまよう獣が、あの獅子を殺そうとして聖仙の住まいへやって来た。凶暴な捕食者であるそれは、庵へ近づくにつれ森の生きものたちの心に恐怖を撒き散らし、本来は静けさと自制のための場所に血の禍を持ち込もうとしたのである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical contrast: a place of tapas and restraint (the sage’s dwelling) is threatened by unchecked हिंसा (violence). It prepares the listener to reflect on dharma as protection—how the strong should be restrained from harming the vulnerable, and how peace can be disrupted when predatory impulses dominate.
A powerful śarabha—described as eight-footed and upward-eyed—arrives in the forest and comes to the sage’s residence with the intention of killing a lion. Its approach terrifies other forest creatures, signaling imminent danger at the hermitage.