Shloka 42
मायामृगदर्शनम्
The Vision of the Illusory Deer
समुत्थाने व तद्रूपं कर्तुकामं समीक्ष्य तम्।उत्स्मयित्वा तु भगवान्वातापिमिदमब्रवीत्।।।।
samutthāne va tadrūpaṃ kartukāmaṃ samīkṣya tam | utsmayitvā tu bhagavān vātāpim idam abravīt ||
അവൻ എഴുന്നേറ്റപ്പോൾ, സ്വന്തം രൂപം വീണ്ടും കൈക്കൊള്ളാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന വാതാപിയെ ഭഗവാൻ മുനി കണ്ടു; പുഞ്ചിരിച്ച് അദ്ദേഹം വാതാപിയോട് ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞു.
When the venerable sage Agastya got up (after eating), he observed Vatapi wishing to turn into his real form. So smiling at him, he said:
FAQs
Dharma is portrayed as calm mastery over deceit: the sage recognizes the hidden intent and responds without fear. Truth-seeing (satya-jñāna) precedes right action.
After consuming Vātāpi, Agastya observes him attempting to revert to his form; Agastya smiles, about to pronounce decisive words.
Composure and clarity: the sage’s smile signals inner steadiness and confident discernment in the face of deception.