Shloka 2
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
साभ्यगच्छत मां देवि रूपेणाप्रतिमा भुवि । प्रदक्षिणं लोभयन्ती मां शुभे रुचिरानना
sābhyagacchat māṃ devi rūpeṇāpratimā bhuvi | pradakṣiṇaṃ lobhayantī māṃ śubhe rucirānanā ||
Bhishma nói: “Ôi nữ thần, nàng đã đến gần ta—vẻ đẹp vô song trên cõi đất. Thiếu nữ cát tường, dung nhan rực rỡ ấy, quyến rũ tâm trí ta, đã đến để đi nhiễu quanh ta (vừa tỏ lòng tôn kính, vừa phô bày vẻ đẹp).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between sensory allure and disciplined conduct: even when confronted with incomparable beauty, the dharmic ideal is steadiness and self-restraint, recognizing that outward charm can test one’s vows and judgment.
Bhishma narrates that an extraordinarily beautiful maiden approaches him and performs pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation), while simultaneously captivating him—setting the scene for a moral test involving attraction, propriety, and dharma.