Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
समीक्षमाण: स तु तां वयःस्थां तनुवाससम् | तस्य काम: प्रववृथे गहने5ग्निरिवोद्गत:
samīkṣamāṇaḥ sa tu tāṃ vayaḥsthāṃ tanuvāsasam | tasya kāmaḥ pravavṛdhe gahane 'gnir ivodgataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Khi nhìn thấy người thiếu phụ trẻ ấy, khoác tấm y mỏng manh, dục vọng bùng cháy trong lòng Pāṇḍu—như lửa rừng bất thần bốc lên giữa khu rừng rậm rạp.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights how desire can arise suddenly and powerfully through sensory contact, suggesting the ethical need for vigilance and self-restraint (dama) so that impulse does not override dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Pāṇḍu, upon seeing a youthful woman in a thin garment, is overcome by desire, compared to a wildfire erupting in a dense forest—an image that anticipates morally fraught action and its consequences.