Shloka 71

Devanagari script

विश्वामित्र उवाच अगस्त्येनासुरो जग्धो वातापि: क्षुधितेन वै । अहमापदगत: क्षुत्तो भक्षयिष्ये श्वजाघनीम्‌,विश्वामित्र बोले--भूखे हुए महर्षि अगस्त्येने वातापि नामक असुरको खा लिया था। मैं तो क्षुधाके कारण भारी आपत्तिमें पड़ गया हूँ; अतः यह कुत्तेकी जाँच अवश्य खाऊँगा

Transliteration

Viśvāmitra uvāca: Agastyenāsuro jagdho Vātāpiḥ kṣudhitenā vai | aham āpadgataḥ kṣuttaḥ bhakṣayiṣye śvajāghanīm ||

Translation

ວິສວາມິດຣະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ເມື່ອພຣະລິສີ ອະກັສຕະຍະ ຫິວ ທ່ານຍັງເຄີຍກິນອະສຸຣະຊື່ ວາຕາປິ. ຂ້າກໍຕົກຢູ່ໃນຄວາມຄັບຂັນຢ່າງຫນັກ ຖືກຄວາມຫິວບີບຄັ້ນ; ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ຂ້າຈະກິນຂາໝານີ້»។

Word by Word

विश्वामित्रःVishvamitra

उवाचsaid

अगस्त्येनby Agastya

असुरःthe demon

जग्धःeaten

वातापिःVātāpi (name of the demon)

क्षुधितेनby the hungry (one)

वैindeed

अहम्I

आपद्-गतःfallen into calamity

क्षुत्तःhungry

भक्षयिष्येI shall eat

श्वजाघनीम्dog-meat / a dog's haunch (as food)

Speaker

विश्वामित्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Viśvāmitra

Agastya

Vātāpi

asura

dog’s haunch (śvajāghanī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse invokes āpaddharma: in extreme distress (especially starvation), actions normally prohibited may be argued as permissible for preserving life, using Agastya’s extraordinary precedent to justify a difficult choice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Viśvāmitra, suffering severe hunger, cites the famous episode of Agastya eating the asura Vātāpi when hungry, and declares that he too will eat a dog’s haunch to survive his present calamity.