Shloka 743
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
विस्मिता साभवत् कन्या व्रीडिता च तपस्विनी । जिससे वहाँका सारा प्रदेश अन्धकारसे आच्छादित-सा हो गया। महर्षिद्वारा कुहरेकी सृष्टि देखकर वह तपस्विनी कन्या आश्वर्यचकित एवं लज्जित हो गयी
vismitā sābhavat kanyā vrīḍitā ca tapasvinī |
Wika ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: Ang dalaga, isang batang asceta, ay napamangha at napahiya rin. Nang makita niya ang paglikha ng pantas ng makapal na hamog na wari’y bumalot sa buong lupain at nagdulot ng dilim, tumindig siyang namamangha at may mahinhing pagkapahiya—isang tagpong nagpapakita ng kapangyarihan ng tapas at ng bigat na etikal ng pagpipigil at kagandahang-asal sa mga pagtatagpo ng mga asceta.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological response of a disciplined ascetic: even amid extraordinary displays of tapas (here, a mist that darkens the region), she maintains vrīḍā (modest restraint). It suggests that spiritual power should be met with humility and that decorum remains a dharmic value in charged encounters.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that a maiden ascetic becomes both astonished and bashful upon witnessing a great sage’s miraculous act—creating a fog that makes the area seem covered in darkness—indicating a sudden, awe-inspiring turn in the scene.