Adhyaya 76 — The Sixth Manvantara: Cakshusha Manu, the Child-Snatcher, and the Problem of Kinship
पुत्र उवाच मामत्तुमिच्छति पुरो मार्जारी किम न पश्यसि ।
अन्तर्धानगता चेयं द्वितीया जातहारिणी ॥
putra uvāca mām attum icchati puro mārjārī kim na paśyasi / antardhānagatā ceyaṃ dvitīyā jātahāriṇī //
子は言った。「前にいる雌猫が私を食らおうとしている——見えないのですか。さらにこの二つ目は子をさらう者で、姿を隠して(見えなく)なりました。」
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Not all threats are obvious; some are visible (the cat), others concealed (the jātahāriṇī). The episode prepares an analogy: human relationships too may conceal self-interest beneath affection.
Ākhyāna functioning as dharma-upadeśa through allegory; not a direct pancalakṣaṇa item except as narrative instruction within the Purāṇa’s broader scope.
The visible predator and the invisible stealer symbolize gross and subtle forms of exploitation—outer harm and inner appropriation—mirroring how attachment can ‘consume’ another.