Shloka 2
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
साभ्यगच्छत मां देवि रूपेणाप्रतिमा भुवि । प्रदक्षिणं लोभयन्ती मां शुभे रुचिरानना
sābhyagacchat māṃ devi rūpeṇāpratimā bhuvi | pradakṣiṇaṃ lobhayantī māṃ śubhe rucirānanā ||
ದೇವಿ! ಶುಭೇ! ಭುವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಿಲೋತ್ತಮೆಯ ರೂಪಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಟಿಯೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆ ಸುಮುಖಿ ಕನ್ಯೆ ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಮೋಹಗೊಳಿಸಿ ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಿಣೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಬಂದಳು.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between sensory allure and disciplined conduct: even when confronted with incomparable beauty, the dharmic ideal is steadiness and self-restraint, recognizing that outward charm can test one’s vows and judgment.
Bhishma narrates that an extraordinarily beautiful maiden approaches him and performs pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation), while simultaneously captivating him—setting the scene for a moral test involving attraction, propriety, and dharma.