Shloka 55
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
गिरिकाया: प्रयच्छाशु तस्या हागर्तवमद्य वै । गृहीत्वा तत् तदा श्येनस्तूर्णमुत्पत्य वेगवान्
girikāyāḥ prayacchāśu tasyā hāgartavam adya vai | gṛhītvā tat tadā śyenastūrṇam utpatya vegavān |
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا: “فوراً اسے گِرِکا تک پہنچا دو، کیونکہ آج ہی اس کا مناسب موسم ہے۔” وہ بیج لے کر تیز و توانا باز فوراً اُڑا اور جلدی میں وہاں سے روانہ ہو گیا۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores acting in accordance with dharma through right timing and regulated conduct: even intimate aims like progeny are pursued through lawful means, attention to the proper season (ṛtukāla), and ritual propriety, reflecting the epic’s linkage of personal desire to social and dynastic responsibility.
A hawk (śyena) is commanded to swiftly deliver King Vasu’s semen—prepared for conception—to Queen Girikā because it is her fertile time that very day; the hawk takes it and immediately flies off at great speed.