Shloka 26
Adhyāya 71: Kaca and the Saṃjīvanī-vidyā
Devayānī–Śukra Episode
रूपयौवनमाधुर्यचेष्टितस्मित भाषणै: । लोभयित्वा वरारोहे तपसस्तं निवर्तय,“वरारोहे! अपने रूप, जवानी, मधुर स्वभाव, हाव-भाव, मन्न्द मुसकान और सरस वार्तालाप आदिके द्वारा मुनिको लुभाकर उन्हें तपस्यासे निवृत्त कर दो”
rūpayauvanamādhuryaceṣṭitasmitabhāṣaṇaiḥ | lobhayitvā varārohe tapasas taṃ nivartaya ||
“Hỡi thiếu nữ hông đẹp! Bằng sắc đẹp, tuổi xuân, sự dịu ngọt, những cử chỉ lả lơi, nụ cười hiền, và lời nói duyên dáng của nàng, hãy quyến rũ vị hiền giả ấy và khiến ông rời bỏ khổ hạnh.”
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse spotlights an ethical conflict: using charm and desire as instruments to derail a sage’s tapas. It implicitly raises questions about dharma—whether ends justify means, and how easily disciplined virtue can be tested by sensory allure.
Kaṇva addresses a young woman and instructs her to employ her beauty, youth, pleasing demeanor, gestures, smile, and speech to entice a sage and make him abandon his austerities—an explicit directive to interrupt ascetic practice through seduction.