Shloka 27
Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)
सतं पप्रच्छ राजेन्द्रो मुनिं मौनव्रते स्थितम् । न च किंचिदुवाचैनं पृष्टोडपि स मुनिस्तदा,प्रौढ़ अवस्था, साठ वर्षकी आयु और बुढ़ापेका संयोग इन सबके कारण वे बहुत थक गये थे। उस विशाल वनमें उन्हें भूख सताने लगी। इसी दशामें महाराजने वहाँ मुनिश्रेष्ठ शमीकको देखा। राजेन्द्र परीक्षितने उनसे मृगका पता पूछा; किंतु वे मुनि उस समय मौनव्रतके पालनमें संलग्न थे। उनके पूछनेपर भी महर्षि शभीक उस समय कुछ न बोले
sataṁ papraccha rājendro muniṁ maunavrate sthitam | na ca kiñcid uvācainaṁ pṛṣṭo 'pi sa munis tadā ||
Vua Parīkṣit hỏi vị hiền giả đang giữ lời thệ nguyện im lặng. Nhưng dù bị hỏi, khi ấy hiền giả vẫn không nói một lời nào.
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A vow (vrata) is a form of dharma for the ascetic, while restraint and respect are dharma for the ruler. When urgent desire (hunger, fatigue, frustration) meets another’s disciplined silence, the ethical demand is patience and discernment; failure to govern one’s anger can trigger disproportionate consequences.
Parīkṣit, exhausted and searching for information (about the deer in the surrounding forest), approaches the sage Śamīka. Śamīka is observing mauna-vrata and therefore does not respond even when questioned, creating the tension that leads into the later conflict of the episode.