Shloka 36
मायामृगदर्शनम्
The Vision of the Illusory Deer
एष चैव मृगश्श्रीमान् यश्च दिव्यो नभश्चरः।उभावेतौ मृगौ दिव्यौ तारामृगमहीमृगौ।।।।
eṣa caiva mṛgaś śrīmān yaś ca divyo nabhaścaraḥ | ubhāv etau mṛgau divyau tārāmṛga-mahīmṛgau ||
この鹿は輝かしく、またあのもう一頭の鹿は、神妙にして天を行く。両者はともに霊妙である——「星々の鹿」と「地上の鹿」と。
This majestic deer and the deer flying in heaven (the deer's figure seen in the Moon called Mrgasira) - both the deer of the star in the sky and the deer of the earth are divine.
FAQs
The verse shows how the mind sacralizes what it desires by calling it ‘divine.’ Dharma requires that ‘truth’ (satya) be tested, not assumed—especially when wonder and craving arise together.
Rama elevates the deer’s marvel by comparing it with a celestial ‘deer’ figure in the sky, treating both as extraordinary.
Wonder and poetic imagination are emphasized, while the broader episode teaches the complementary virtue of careful verification (satya-anusandhāna).