Adhyaya 70 — The King Confronts the Rakshasa and Restores the Brahmin’s Wife
वैकल्यं तस्य विप्रस्य राक्षसोऽप्याह मे यथा ।
अपत्नीकतया सोऽहं सङ्कटं महदास्थितः ॥
vaikalyaṃ tasya viprasya rākṣaso ’py āha me yathā |
apatnīkatayā so ’haṃ saṅkaṭaṃ mahad āsthitaḥ ||
నేను ఆ బ్రాహ్మణుని లోపాన్ని ఎలా వర్ణించానో, అలాగే ఆ రాక్షసుడూ నాతో ఇలా అన్నాడు— “నేను భార్యలేనివాడను; అందువల్ల మహా దుఃఖంలో పడ్డాను।”
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The verse frames suffering as a concrete social-ethical problem (lack/disorder in household life) and sets up a karmic-ethical resolution rather than mere violence. It also hints that even a rākṣasa articulates a ‘need’ in human terms, enabling a moral test for the king.
Primarily Ākhyāna/Upākhyāna (subsidiary narrative) used for dharma-instruction; not directly sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita in this verse.
The ‘rākṣasa without a wife’ can symbolize untamed appetite seeking legitimization; the narrative tests whether power (kṣatra) channels disorder into a controlled, dharmic outcome—or compounds adharma by misusing authority.