Shloka 4
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
इन्द्रत्वमहों राजायं तपसेत्यनुचिन्त्य वै । त॑ सान्त्वेन नृपं साक्षात् तपस: संन्यवर्तयन्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: indratvam aho rājāyaṁ tapasety anucintya vai | taṁ sāntvena nṛpaṁ sākṣāt tapasaḥ saṁnyavartayan ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Mereka berfikir, ‘Ah! Raja ini mencari kedaulatan Indra melalui tapas,’ lalu para dewa datang sendiri dan dengan pujukan yang lembut memalingkan sang raja daripada pertapaan yang keras itu.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity is powerful and can even threaten cosmic offices, but it should be guided by dharma and right intention; gentle counsel and restraint are preferable to conflict when redirecting potentially disruptive ambition.
Seeing the king engaged in intense tapas, the gods suspect he aims to obtain Indra’s position; they appear before him and pacify him with conciliatory words, leading him to withdraw from the austerity.