Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 23
The Birth and Preservation of Nahuṣa
Guru-tīrtha Greatness within the Vena Episode
इत्येवं चिंतयामास कारुण्येन समन्विता । पुनः पप्रच्छ भर्तारं कस्माद्भक्ष्यसि बालकम्
ityevaṃ ciṃtayāmāsa kāruṇyena samanvitā | punaḥ papraccha bhartāraṃ kasmādbhakṣyasi bālakam
Assim refletiu, tomada de compaixão, e tornou a perguntar ao esposo: «Por que motivo devorarás a criança?»
A compassionate wife addressing her husband (narrative dialogue; specific names not provided in the given verse).
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: इत्येवम् = इति + एवम् (इ + ए → ये); कस्माद्भक्ष्यसि = कस्मात् + भक्ष्यसि (त् + भ् → द्भ्)।
FAQs
It foregrounds compassion confronting violence: the wife challenges an intended act of harm and demands a moral justification.
It implies that actions—especially harmful ones—must be examined through reasoned inquiry and moral accountability, not impulse.
The speaker is a woman (wife) described as compassionate, addressing her husband; the verse itself does not supply their proper names.