Shloka 26
Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
मां चाभिगम्य क्षीणो5यं कामाद् भरतसत्तम: । तमुच्छिन्द्यामस्य कामं कथं नु यमसादने,ये भरतश्रेष्ठ मेरे प्रति आसक्त हो मुझसे समागम करके मृत्युको प्राप्त हुए हैं; अतः मुझे किसी प्रकार परलोकमें पहुँचकर उनकी उस कामवासनाकी निवृत्ति करनी चाहिये
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
māṁ cābhigamya kṣīṇo 'yaṁ kāmād bharatasattamaḥ |
tam ucchindyām asya kāmaṁ kathaṁ nu yamasādane ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Having approached and united with me, this best of the Bharatas has perished, consumed by desire. How, then, in Yama’s abode (the realm of the dead), might I cut off and bring to an end his craving?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked kāma (desire) is portrayed as destructive, leading to ruin even for the noble; ethical reflection includes the responsibility to remedy harm and to sever the root of craving, not merely its outward acts.
The speaker reports that a Bharata noble, driven by lust, approached and united with the woman speaking (implied by “mām”), and died as a result; she then wonders how she can reach the realm of Yama and extinguish his lingering desire there.