Shloka 13
यक्ष उवाच अरणीसहितं हास्य ब्राह्मणस्य हृतं॑ मया । मृगवेषेण कौन्तेय जिज्ञासार्थ तव प्रभो
yakṣa uvāca araṇīsahitaṃ hāsya brāhmaṇasya hṛtaṃ mayā | mṛgaveṣeṇa kaunteya jijñāsārthaṃ tava prabho ||
یَکش نے کہا—اے کونتی کے بیٹے! میں ہی اُس برہمن کی اَرَنی سمیت مَنتھن کی لکڑیاں لے اُڑا تھا۔ اے آقا! ہرن کا بھیس بنا کر میں نے یہ تمہاری آزمائش کے لیے کیا تھا۔
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical test: apparent wrongdoing (taking a Brahmin’s sacred fire-making tools) is revealed as a deliberate trial meant to examine the hero’s discernment and commitment to dharma under pressure and uncertainty.
The Yakṣa discloses that he himself seized the Brahmin’s araṇī by assuming a deer’s form. He explains that this was done to probe Kaunteya’s qualities—setting up the larger episode of questioning and moral evaluation.