Shloka 2
कच-देवयानी संवादः
Kaca–Devayānī Dialogue and the Curse on Vidyā
अथापश्यद् वरारोहा तपसा दग्धकिल्बिषम् | विश्वामित्रं तप्यमानं मेनका भीरुराश्रमे,वनमें पहुँचकर भीरु स्वभाववाली सुन्दरी मेनकाने एक आश्रममें विश्वामित्र मुनिको तप करते देखा। वे तपस्याद्वारा अपने समस्त पाप दग्ध कर चुके थे
athāpaśyad varārohā tapasā dagdha-kilbiṣam | viśvāmitraṃ tapyamānaṃ menakā bhīrur āśrame ||
Затем Менакā — прекрасноликая дева с робким нравом — подошла к ашраму и увидела Вишвамитру, предающегося суровой аскезе. Силой своего тапаса он уже сжёг все пятна прегрешений.
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas as an ethical-spiritual discipline that purifies inner faults (kilbiṣa). It presents austerity and self-restraint as a means of moral cleansing and steadfastness, even when circumstances may later test that restraint.
Kaṇva narrates that Menakā arrives at a hermitage and sees the sage Viśvāmitra absorbed in austerities. He is described as having burned away his sins through tapas, setting the stage for the ensuing encounter and its consequences.