तत्रोन्मदाभिः कान्ताभिर्भोजनैर्भोगसञ्चयैः । जनको लालयामास शुकं शशिसमाननम् ॥ २४ ॥
tatrōnmadābhiḥ kāntābhirbhōjanairbhōgasañcayaiḥ | janakō lālayāmāsa śukaṁ śaśisamānanam || 24 ||
Translation
There Janaka indulged the moon-faced Śuka with women wild with youth, with fine food and with every kind of pleasure.
Word by word
- tatra
- there
- unmadābhiḥ
- wild with youth
- kāntābhir
- (kāntābhiḥ) with women
- bhōjanair
- (bhojanaiḥ) with fine food
- bhōga
- of pleasure
- sañcayaiḥ
- with every kind
- janakō
- (janakaḥ) Janaka
- lālayāmāsa
- indulged
- śukaṁ
- Śuka
- śaśi
- the moon
- sama
- like
- ānanam
- faced
Meaning
In the inner palace Janaka surrounds Śuka with everything the senses want: young women intoxicated with their youth (unmada kāntā), rich food (bhojana), heaps of pleasures (bhoga-sañcaya). For seven days he is pampered (lālayāmāsa). The test is plain. Śuka has shown he can endure neglect; can he endure delight? Many who are steady in hardship lose themselves in comfort. The verse calls him "moon-faced" again, as if to say his calm is unchanged even here.