Shloka 24
बकवधोत्तर-प्रशमनम् | Post-slaying Stabilization after Baka’s Death
केयं वै बृहती श्यामा सुकुमारी तवानघ । शेते वनमिदं प्राप्य विश्वस्ता स्वगृहे यथा,“और अनघ! ये सबसे बड़ी उम्रवाली श्यामा5ः सुकुमारी देवी आपकी कौन लगती हैं, जो इस वनमें आकर भी ऐसी नि:शंक होकर सो रही हैं, मानो अपने घरमें ही हों
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
keyaṃ vai bṛhatī śyāmā sukumārī tavānagha |
śete vanam idaṃ prāpya viśvastā svagṛhe yathā ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi người vô tội, thiếu nữ da sẫm này là ai đối với ngươi—dáng cao mà vẫn mảnh mai, mềm mại—đến chốn rừng sâu này mà vẫn nằm ngủ với lòng tin trọn vẹn, như thể đang ở chính nhà mình?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical sensitivity: encountering a vulnerable person (a young woman asleep in a forest) naturally prompts inquiry and concern. It implies a dharmic duty to identify, protect, and ensure safety rather than exploit vulnerability.
The narrator reports a speaker’s astonished question to an addressed person: an unknown maiden has come into the forest and is sleeping fearlessly, as if at home. The scene sets up identification of the maiden and the circumstances that brought her there.