Shloka 29
Ṛśyaśṛṅgopākhyāna-praveśaḥ — Lomāśa narrates the origins of Ṛśyaśṛṅga and the Anga drought (ऋश्यशृङ्गोपाख्यान-प्रवेशः)
कथंरूपा च सा शान्ता राजपुत्री यतव्रता । लोभयामास या चेतो मृगभूतस्य तस्य वै,नियम और व्रतका पालन करनेवाली राजकुमारी शान्ता भी कैसी थी, जिसने मृगस्वरूप मुनिका भी मन मोह लिया। राजर्षि लोमपाद तो बड़े धर्मात्मा सुने गये हैं, फिर उनके राज्यमें इन्द्र वर्षा क्यों नहीं करते थे?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
kathaṃrūpā ca sā śāntā rājaputrī yatavratā |
lobhayāmāsa yā ceto mṛgabhūtasya tasya vai |
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Công chúa Śāntā—người tự chế và trung thành với các giới nguyện—là người phụ nữ như thế nào mà có thể mê hoặc cả tâm trí của vị hiền triết đã mang hình dạng con nai ấy?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between disciplined vow-observance (vrata, niyama) and the power of attraction: even an ascetic mind, symbolically ‘deer-like’ and vulnerable, can be stirred. It invites reflection on how virtue is tested and how exemplary conduct is recognized and questioned.
Yudhiṣṭhira asks for a description of Princess Śāntā—renowned for restraint and vows—because her qualities were said to have captivated even a sage who had assumed a deer-form. The question sets up a fuller account of her character and the circumstances around that episode.