As Pandu stood over the fallen deer in the forest, he was confronted by a voice full of anguish and reproach. The dying sage, Kindama, spoke, his words heavy with wisdom and sorrow. “Men do not shoot arrows at enemies without cause,” he said. “The vulnerability of an enemy, especially at the right moment, is praised for killing—but here, O king, you have acted otherwise. Whether one is inattentive or alert, exposed or hidden, enemies are struck down with force by various sharp means. So why, O king, do you reproach me for this?” Kindama continued, “O king of men, I do not blame you for hunting animals for your own sake. But you should have waited until our union was complete; in this, you have acted with cruelty. When the welfare of all beings is sought, and when all desire it, what wise person would kill an animal engaged in mating in the forest?” His voice trembled as he spoke of his own fate. “O king, in this hunt, while I was joyfully engaged in mating, seeking the fruit of human purpose, you have rendered it fruitless. O great king, born in the noble line of the Pauravas, O Kaurava, your act is not fitting. This is a cruel deed, greatly condemned by all people, unworthy of heaven, infamous, and unrighteous, O Bharata. You, who know the distinctions of enjoyment with women, and understand the truths of law, wealth, and desire from the scriptures, are not worthy, O one like the gods, to commit such an unheavenly act.” Kindama’s lament grew deeper. “Those who commit cruelty and sinful acts, O best of kings, should be restrained by you, being devoid of the three aims of life. O best of men, what have I done, that you kill me here though I am innocent—a sage living on roots and fruits, wearing the form of a deer, O king? Dwelling always in the forest, devoted to peace, I have been harmed by you; therefore, though innocent, I shall harm you as well. For one who, overcome by desire and delusion, commits cruelty to another, the end of life will come to him while engaged in mating.” He revealed his true identity: “I am the sage named Kindama, purified by austerity; feeling shame among humans, I practiced intercourse in the form of a deer. Having become a deer, I wandered with others in the dense forest; but this is not the sin of killing a Brahmin for you, since you did not know. By killing me, who had taken the form of a deer and was overcome by desire, you, O fool, will receive a fruit just like this. Having attained union with your beloved, and being deluded by desire, you too will come to this same state and go to the realm of the departed. At the end of your life, when you depart with your beloved, you will reach the city of the lord of the dead, which is difficult for all beings to cross; yet, O best of the wise, she will follow you there out of devotion. As you brought me, who was enjoying happiness, into suffering, so too, when you attain happiness, suffering will come upon you.” Having spoken these words, overwhelmed by great sorrow, Kindama departed from life. Pandu, stricken with grief and remorse, perished in that moment, his heart unable to bear the weight of the curse. Approaching Pandu as one departed, the king’s wife, stricken by grief and sorrow, lamented as if she had lost her own kinsman. She cried in distress, “Even those born in noble families, alas, fall into misfortune through their actions, when their minds are unprepared and they are deluded by the net of desire. My father, always devoted to righteousness from childhood, has reached the end of his life; thus we have heard, it was due to desire.” Reflecting on her lineage, she said, “In the field of that king, whose mind was ruled by desire, the sage Krishna Dvaipayana, master of restraint, directly begot me. Now, in this calamity, my mind has become base, abandoned by the gods, as I run after this deer.” She resolved, “I will seek liberation, for bondage is a great affliction; I will follow the excellent conduct of my father, which is imperishable. I will surely engage myself in intense austerity; therefore, for one day each, I will stay under each tree. As a sage, shaven-headed, I will wander for alms among these hermitages, covered with dust, making my dwelling in empty huts. Dwelling at the root of a tree, having abandoned all that is dear and not dear, neither grieving nor rejoicing, equal in blame and self-praise. Without hope, without offering obeisance, free from dualities, without possessions; nor mocking anyone, nor ever frowning. Always with a serene face, devoted to the welfare of all beings, I will not harm any creature, whether moving or unmoving, of all four kinds. Always impartial among living beings, as one is among one's own children, I would beg for alms at one time only, from ten or fifteen households. If alms were not available, I would go without food, eating little when little was obtained, and never seeking more before what was previously received was finished. Even when lacking, I would, out of desire, beg from other households, filling up to seven more; in gain or lack, the great ascetic remained even-minded. If one arm was being cut by a carpenter and the other smeared with sandal paste, I would not think either misfortune or good fortune about those two. I would act neither as one who desires to live nor as one who wishes to die; I would not cling to life or hate death. All the actions that can be performed in life for prosperity, I would completely abandon, remaining as steady as the blink of an eye. In those unstable conditions, having given up all actions of the senses, having renounced both righteousness and wealth, my soul would be thoroughly cleansed of all stain. Freed from all sins, having crossed beyond all snares, not under anyone's control, I would become like the wind in its own nature. By living always in this manner, following such a path, I will sustain my body, fearless, having set out on this way. I will not follow a pitiable path, grieving over the loss of my own strength, or stray from my own duty, devoid of vigor.” Thus, in the shadow of Pandu’s tragic fate, his wife resolved to follow the path of renunciation and austerity, seeking liberation and peace through a life of equanimity and compassion.