विनिःश्वसन्मुनिवरः पश्चात्तापेन दुःखितः।
भीतामप्सरसं दृष्ट्वा वेपन्तीं प्राञ्जलिं स्थिताम्॥
मेनकां मधुरैर्वाक्यैर्विसृज्य कुशिकात्मजः।
उत्तरं पर्वतं राम विश्वामित्रो जगाम ह॥
viniḥśvasan muni-varaḥ paścāt-tāpena duḥkhitaḥ
bhītām apsarasaṁ dṛṣṭvā vepantīṁ prāñjaliṁ sthitām
menakāṁ madhurair vākyair visṛjya kuśikātmajaḥ
uttaraṁ parvataṁ rāma viśvāmitro jagāma ha
viniḥśvasan = sighing deeply; muni-varaḥ = the excellent sage; paścāttāpena duḥkhitaḥ = was anguished in repentence; bhītām = out of fear; apsarasam = the apsarā; dṛṣṭvā = noticed and; vepantīm = she was trembling; prāñjalim = with her palms joined in supplication; sthitām = and standing before him; menakām = Menakā; madhuraiḥ vākyaiḥ = with sweet words; visṛjya = released her; kuśika-atmajaḥ = the son of Kuśika; uttaram parvatam = to the Himālaya in the north; rāma = O Rāma; viśvāmitraḥ = Viśvāmitra; jagāma ha = then went.
Sighing deeply, the excellent sage was anguished in repentence. The son of Kuśika then noticed the apsarā Menakā and released her with sweet words. She was trembling out of fear and standing before him with her palms joined in supplication. O Rāma, Viśvāmitra then went to the Himālaya in the north.
1. This is a rhetorical question. Viśvāmitra wanted to inform Menakā that she did not do any wrong. It was entirely his fault.
Viśvāmitra released Menakā while speaking these sweet words, “What wrong did you do?1 This is my fault, for I was overcome by lust.”
NOTE. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the very endeavor to control one’s senses is difficult to carry through: “There are many learned sages, philosophers and transcendentalists who try to conquer the senses, but in spite of their endeavors, even the greatest of them sometimes fall victim to material sense enjoyment due to the agitated mind. Even Viśvāmitra, a great sage and perfect yogī, was misled by Menakā into sex enjoyment, although the yogī was endeavoring for sense control with severe types of penance and yoga practice. And, of course, there are so many similar instances in the history of the world.” (Bhagavad-gītā 2.60 purport)