Adhyaya 70 — The King Confronts the Rakshasa and Restores the Brahmin’s Wife
नेयं सुरूपा सन्त्यन्या भाय्र्यार्थञ्चेद् हृता त्वया ।
भक्ष्यार्थं चेत्कथं नात्ता त्वयैतत्कथ्यतां मम ॥
neyaṃ surūpā santy anyā bhāryārthaṃ ced hṛtā tvayā | bhakṣyārthaṃ cet kathaṃ nāttā tvayaitat kathyatāṃ mama ||
“นางมิได้งามเป็นพิเศษ—ยังมีผู้อื่นอีก หากเจ้าพานางไปเพื่อเป็นภรรยา เหตุใดต้องเป็นนาง? และหากเพื่อเป็นอาหาร เหตุใดเจ้าจึงไม่กินนาง? จงบอกข้ามาเถิด”
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Rājadharma includes interrogation grounded in reason: the king tests inconsistent behavior to uncover truth. The verse also implies that neither lust nor predation can justify violating another’s autonomy.
Ākhyāna; a moral-legal episode rather than sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita material.
The two motives—desire and consumption—represent rājasika craving and tāmasika devouring. The king’s questioning is the inner light that exposes contradictions and forces the shadow to disclose itself.