कुतस् त्वम् असि संप्राप्तः कश् चासि पुरुषर्षभ ॥
क इमे शेरते चेह पुरुषा देवरूपिणः ॥
केयं च बृहती श्यामा सुकुमारी तवानघ ॥
शेते वनम् इदं प्राप्य विश्वस्ता स्वगृहे यथा ॥
नेदं जानाति गहनं वनं राक्षससेवितम् ॥
वसति ह्य् अत्र पापात्मा हिडिम्बो नाम राक्षसः ॥
तेनाहं प्रेषिता भ्रात्रा दुष्टभावेन रक्षसा ॥
बिभक्षयिषता मांसं युष्माकम् अमरोपम ॥
kutas tvam asi saṃprāptaḥ kaś cāsi puruṣarṣabha ||
ka ime śerate ceha puruṣā devarūpiṇaḥ ||
keyaṃ ca bṛhatī śyāmā sukumārī tavānagha ||
śete vanam idaṃ prāpya viśvastā svagṛhe yathā ||
nedaṃ jānāti gahanaṃ vanaṃ rākṣasasevitam ||
vasati hy atra pāpātmā hiḍimbo nāma rākṣasaḥ ||
tenāhaṃ preṣitā bhrātrā duṣṭabhāvena rakṣasā ||
bibhakṣayiṣatā māṃsaṃ yuṣmākam amaropama ||
The rakshasi said: 'Whence have you come, and who are you, O bull among men? And who are these godlike men sleeping here? And who is this statuesque, dark, tender woman, O blameless one, sleeping here in this forest, trusting as if in her own home? She does not know this dense forest, inhabited by rakshasas; for here dwells an evil-souled rakshasa named Hidimba. I have been sent by that brother, a rakshasa of wicked nature, who wishes to devour your flesh, O godlike one.'
ca769e05fc6a · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:03:09 PM UTC
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Here the rakshasi displays an honesty rare among her kind. Telling is that, having fallen in love, she conceals neither her origin nor the evil errand given her: 'I have been sent by my brother to devour your flesh.' Here we see that love gives birth to truthfulness: a transformed heart does not deceive the one it loves. Telling too is her concern: she warns of the danger, saving those she was sent to kill — love turns an instrument of evil into a herald of salvation. Thus scripture reveals that sincere feeling for the good awakens both honesty and compassion; and the rakshasi, who only moments ago was the man-eater's tool, becomes the protector of the righteous.