Shloka 41
मायामृगदर्शनम्
The Vision of the Illusory Deer
स कदाचिच्चिराल्लोभादाससाद महामुनिम्।अगस्त्यं तेजसा युक्तं भक्षस्तस्य बभूव ह।।।।
sa kadācic cirāl lobhād āsasāda mahāmunim | agastyaṃ tejasā yuktaṃ bhakṣas tasya babhūva ha ||
ദീർഘകാലത്തിന് ശേഷം ലോഭം മൂലം പ്രേരിതനായി അവൻ ഒരിക്കൽ മഹാമുനി അഗസ്ത്യനെ സമീപിച്ചു; തപോതേജസ്സാൽ ദീപ്തനായ അഗസ്ത്യന്റെ ആഹാരമായി അവൻ തന്നെ ഭക്ഷിതനായി.
That Vatapi after a long time, once greedily entered into the stomach of the great lustrous sage Agastya and became his food.
FAQs
Greed-driven aggression ultimately collapses before true spiritual power and righteousness. Dharma asserts that tapas (disciplined truthfulness and restraint) is a real force that neutralizes deceit.
The exemplum reaches its turning point: Vātāpi targets Agastya, but Agastya’s tejas makes the attack self-defeating.
Agastya’s spiritual mastery (tapas/tejas) is emphasized as the virtue that protects righteousness without panic or confusion.