Shloka 33
Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage
दृष्टवा यदृच्छया तत्र स्त्रियमंभसि भारत
dṛṣṭvā yadṛcchayā tatra striyam ambhasi bhārata | bharatanandana mahārāja eka-samaya-kī bāta hai, koī sundara-netrāvalī anindya-sundarī ramaṇī sarasvatī-jale snānam karotī sma | daiva-yogena maṅkaṇaka-muneḥ dṛṣṭiḥ tasyāṃ nipatītā, tasya ca vīryaṃ skhalitvā jale nipapāta |
Vaiśaṃpāyana disse: “Ó Bhārata, deleite dos Bhāratas, ó grande rei—certa vez aconteceu que uma mulher irrepreensível, de beleza primorosa e olhos encantadores, banhava-se nas águas do Sarasvatī. Por um volteio do destino, o olhar do sábio Maṅkaṇaka recaiu sobre ela, e seu sêmen, involuntariamente, escorreu e caiu na água.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the vulnerability of even ascetics to sudden sensory triggers and frames such lapses within the larger idea of daiva (fate) and the need for vigilance and self-restraint (indriya-nigraha) in ethical life.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates an incident: a beautiful woman is bathing in the Sarasvatī; the sage Maṅkaṇaka happens to see her, and due to that chance encounter his semen involuntarily falls into the water.