Shloka 18
धृष्टद्युम्नेन समागतक्षत्रियगणगणना
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Enumeration of Assembled Kṣatriyas
स तु दृष्टवैव तं राजा क्रुद्ध उत्थाय भारत । आवदविष्टो रक्षसोग्रेण इयेषात्तुं तदा मुनिम्,भारत! भयानक राक्षससे आविष्ट हुए राजा कल्माषपाद मुनिको देखते ही क्रोधमें भरकर उठे और उसी समय उन्हें खा जानेकी इच्छा करने लगे
sa tu dṛṣṭvaiva taṃ rājā kruddha utthāya bhārata | āvṛtāviṣṭo rākṣasogreṇa iyeṣāttuṃ tadā munim ||
Ao ver o sábio de imediato—ó descendente de Bharata—o rei ergueu-se tomado de ira. Dominado e possuído por um rākṣasa terrível, desejou então devorar o muni, revelando como a mente de um governante, quando capturada por impulsos violentos, pode cair da contenção e do dharma para uma culpa predatória.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when anger and a violent, demonic impulse overtake discernment: even a king can abandon restraint and dharma, turning predatory toward the innocent. It implicitly upholds self-control and protection of sages as essential to righteous rule.
A Gandharva narrates that King Kalmaṣapāda, seized by a terrifying rākṣasa’s influence, sees a sage and immediately rises in wrath, forming the intention to eat him—signaling the king’s transformation into a dangerous, dharma-violating threat.