Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 18
Bhaṅgāśvanopākhyāna — On comparative affection in strī–puruṣa union (भङ्गाश्वनोपाख्यानम्)
अथोवाच स राजर्षि: स्त्रीभूतो वदतां वर:
atho'vāca sa rājarṣiḥ strībhūto vadatāṁ varaḥ | tatra strīrūpadhārī vaktṝṇāṁ śreṣṭho rājarṣiḥ bhaṅgāsvana uvāca — “ahaṁ svayā senayā parivṛtaḥ mṛgayāṁ kartuṁ nirgataḥ; kintu daivapreritena bhrāntacittena bhayānakaṁ vanaṁ praviṣṭavān.”
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Pagkaraan, ang maharlikang rishi—na naging babae at pinakadakila sa mga nagsasalita—ay nagsalita. Doon, si Bhangasvana, ang rishing-hari na nag-anyong babae, ay nagpahayag: “Lumabas ako upang mangaso, napaliligiran ng sarili kong hukbo; ngunit sa udyok ng tadhana, nalito ang aking isip at napadpad ako sa isang kakila-kilabot na gubat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral causality: royal power and intention do not guarantee right outcomes when the mind becomes confused; ‘daiva’ (fate/divine dispensation) and inner delusion can divert one into danger. It prepares the ethical reflection that actions like hunting and indulgence, when joined with heedlessness, can lead to unforeseen consequences and a turning point in one’s dharmic life.
Bhishma introduces the speech of the royal sage Bhangasvana, who is presently in a woman’s form. Bhangasvana begins recounting how, while going out to hunt surrounded by his troops, he became mentally bewildered under the influence of fate and wandered into a frightening forest—setting up the events that follow in his story.