Shloka 42

Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ

King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt

Devanagari script

चकार मृगयां कामी गिरिकामेव संस्मरन्‌ | अतीवरूपसम्पन्नां साक्षाच्छियमिवापराम्‌

Transliteration

vaishampāyana uvāca | cakāra mṛgayāṃ kāmī girikām eva saṃsmaran | atīvarūpasampannāṃ sākṣāc chriyam ivāparām |

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: Didorong oleh nafsu, raja keluar berburu sambil sentiasa mengingati Girikā—yang dikurniai kecantikan luar biasa, bagaikan Lakṣmī yang kedua dalam rupa yang nyata. Namun demikian, baginda melakukannya tanpa melanggar perintah Pitṛ yang menyuruhnya membunuh binatang buas; maka keinginan peribadi dan kewajipan kepada wibawa leluhur menariknya ke dua arah yang bertentangan ketika baginda melangkah masuk ke rimba untuk menewaskan haiwan berbahaya.

Word by Word

• चकार: did, performed
• चकार: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद, परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम, एकवचन

• मृगयाम्: hunt, hunting
• मृगयाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कामी: desirous, lustful
• कामी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• गिरिकाम्: Girīkā (the queen)
• गिरिकाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• संस्मरन्: remembering, thinking of
• संस्मरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अतीवरूपसम्पन्नाम्: endowed with exceedingly great beauty
• अतीवरूपसम्पन्नाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतीव-रूप-सम्पन्ना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• साक्षात्: directly, in person, as if present
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात्

• श्रियम्: Lakṣmī, fortune/beauty
• श्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अपराम्: another, second
• अपराम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Girikā
• Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• the king (Vasu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic tension: a ruler must not disregard ancestral injunctions (pitṛ-ājñā), even when personal desire (kāma) strongly pulls the mind elsewhere. Ethical action is shown as duty-bound conduct amid inner distraction, not the absence of temptation.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes the king going to the forest for a hunt to kill dangerous animals as commanded by the Pitṛs, while his mind remains absorbed in thoughts of his beautiful wife Girikā, likened to a second Lakṣmī.