Shloka 13
यक्ष उवाच अरणीसहितं हास्य ब्राह्मणस्य हृतं॑ मया । मृगवेषेण कौन्तेय जिज्ञासार्थ तव प्रभो
yakṣa uvāca araṇīsahitaṃ hāsya brāhmaṇasya hṛtaṃ mayā | mṛgaveṣeṇa kaunteya jijñāsārthaṃ tava prabho ||
ಯಕ್ಷನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಕೌಂತೇಯಾ! ಆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನ ಅರಣಿಯೊಡನೆ ಮಥನಕಾಷ್ಠವನ್ನೂ ನಾನು ಕಸಿದುಕೊಂಡೆ. ಪ್ರಭು, ಜಿಂಕೆಯ ವೇಷ ಧರಿಸಿ ನಿನ್ನ ಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನು ಪರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಲು ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆನು.
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical test: apparent wrongdoing (taking a Brahmin’s sacred fire-making tools) is revealed as a deliberate trial meant to examine the hero’s discernment and commitment to dharma under pressure and uncertainty.
The Yakṣa discloses that he himself seized the Brahmin’s araṇī by assuming a deer’s form. He explains that this was done to probe Kaunteya’s qualities—setting up the larger episode of questioning and moral evaluation.