Adhyaya 20 — Ritadhvaja’s Companionship with the Naga Princes and the Origin of the Horse Kuvalaya
पुत्रावूचतुः पुत्रः शत्रुजितस्तात नाम्ना ख्यात ऋतध्वजः ।
रूपवानार्जवोपेतः शूरो मानी प्रियंवदः ॥
putrāv ūcatuḥ putraḥ śatrujitas tāta nāmnā khyāta ṛtadhvajaḥ |
rūpavān ārjavopetaḥ śūro mānī priyaṃvadaḥ ||
പുത്രന്മാർ പറഞ്ഞു—പിതാവേ, ശത്രുജിത്തിന്റെ പുത്രൻ ‘ഋതധ്വജ’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധൻ—സുന്ദരൻ, ഋജുത്വസമ്പന്നൻ, വീരൻ, മഹോത്സാഹി, മധുരഭാഷി—അവൻ തന്നെയാണ്।
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The attraction is grounded not merely in pleasure but in perceived guṇa (virtue): beauty is listed, yet moral qualities (ārjava, priya-vāda) are emphasized—suggesting that true affection is drawn to dhārmic character.
Touches vaṃśa (lineage: ‘son of Śatrujit’) and vaṃśānucarita (characterization of a royal figure), but remains within a local narrative unit.
The ‘banner of ṛta’ (ṛta-dhvaja) symbolically points to alignment with cosmic order (ṛta): the psyche naturally gravitates toward harmony and truth when it is not fully obscured by tamas.