Shloka 18
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
प्रदानकांक्षिणीनां च कन्यानां वयसि स्थिते | श्रुत्वा कथास्तथायुक्ता: सा55शा कृशतरी मया,तरुण अवस्था आनेपर विवाहकी चर्चा सुनकर ब्याहकी इच्छा रखनेवाली कन्याओंके हृदयमें जो आशा होती है, वह मुझसे भी अत्यन्त कृश होती है-
pradānakāṅkṣiṇīnāṃ ca kanyānāṃ vayasi sthite | śrutvā kathās tathāyuktāḥ sāśā kṛśatarī mayā ||
Kapag ang mga dalagang naghahangad na maipagkaloob sa pag-aasawa ay sumapit na sa wastong gulang, at marinig nila ang angkop na usapan tungkol sa kasal, may pag-asang sumisibol sa kanilang puso. Ang pag-asang likas na iyon ay sumibol din sa akin, at lalo akong pinapayat at pinanghihina ng pananabik.
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how socially sanctioned expectations—especially regarding marriage at the proper age—naturally generate hope and longing, powerful enough to affect one’s body and mind. It implicitly points to the ethical weight of such discussions and the vulnerability of those who desire a rightful life-stage transition.
Kṛśa speaks introspectively: hearing appropriate talk about marriage, like that which stirs hope in marriageable maidens, has similarly stirred hope in him; the intensity of that hope has left him even more emaciated.