Shloka 11
Cavana’s Tests of Kuśika and the Queen (अध्याय ५३: च्यवन–कुशिक-परिक्षा)
वे जलचर जीवोंके बड़े प्रिय हो गये थे। जल-जन्तु प्रसन्नचित्त होकर उनका ओठ सूँघा करते थे ।। तत्र तस्यासत: काल: समतीतो5भवन्महान् । ततः कदाचित् समये कसम्मिंश्वचिन्मत्स्यजीविन:
tatra tasyāsataḥ kālaḥ samatīto ’bhavan mahān | tataḥ kadācit samaye kasmiṁś cid matsyajīvinaḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Dia menjadi kesayangan makhluk-makhluk air. Dengan hati yang gembira, haiwan air itu sering menghidu bibirnya. Ketika dia tinggal di sana, berlalu masa yang sangat panjang. Kemudian, pada suatu ketika, beberapa orang nelayan kebetulan datang ke tempat itu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inevitability of time’s passage (kāla) and how circumstances change: even in a peaceful setting, new agents (here, fishermen) arrive, prompting fresh ethical and practical considerations.
After the subject has stayed there for a long period, the story advances as some fishermen arrive at a particular time, setting up the next development in the episode.