Shloka 12
Śāṇḍilī–Suparṇa Saṃvāda
Conduct, Intention, and Restoration
तम एव तु पश्यामि शरीर ते न लक्षये । मणीव जात्यौ पश्यामि चक्षुषी तेडहमण्डज
tam eva tu paśyāmi śarīra te na lakṣaye | maṇīv jātyau paśyāmi cakṣuṣī te ’ham aṇḍaja ||
ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤਾਂ ਕੇਵਲ ਉਹੀ ਹਨੇਰਾ ਦਿੱਸਦਾ ਹੈ; ਤੇਰਾ ਸਰੀਰ ਮੈਂ ਪਛਾਣ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਕਦਾ। ਹੇ ਅੰਡਜ! ਤੇਰੀਆਂ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਅੱਖਾਂ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਉੱਤਮ ਜਾਤ ਦੇ ਦੋ ਮਣੀਆਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਚਮਕਦੀਆਂ ਦਿੱਸਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ।
गालव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the limits of ordinary perception: when the surrounding condition is darkness or an uncanny presence, the whole form cannot be grasped, yet distinctive signs (here, the shining eyes) still allow partial recognition. It implicitly contrasts external obscurity with inner radiance.
Gālava addresses an ‘egg-born’ being whose body he cannot see; he reports that only the two eyes are visible, gleaming like high-quality gems. The line functions as a vivid descriptive moment within a dialogue, marking the other being as extraordinary and the setting as visually obscured.