Text 20
api svid akṛta-sukṛtam āgatya māṁ sukhayiṣyati hariṇa-rāja-kumāro vividha-rucira-darśanīya-nija-mṛga-dāraka-vinodair asantoṣaṁ svānām apanudan.
api svit — whether it will; akṛta-sukṛtam — who has never executed any pious activities; āgatya — coming back; mām — to me; sukhayiṣyati — give pleasure; hariṇa-rāja-kumāraḥ — the deer, who was just like a prince because of my taking care of it exactly like a son; vividha — various; rucira — very pleasing; darśanīya — to be seen; nija — own; mṛga-dāraka — befitting the calf of the deer; vinodaiḥ — by pleasing activities; asantoṣam — the unhappiness; svānām — of his own kind; apanudan — driving away.
That deer is exactly like a prince. When will it return? When will it again display its personal activities, which are so pleasing? When will it again pacify a wounded heart like mine? I certainly must have no pious assets, otherwise the deer would have returned by now.
Out of strong affection, the King accepted the small deer as if it were a prince. This is called moha. Due to his anxiety over the deer’s absence, the King addressed the animal as though it were his son. Out of affection, anyone can be addressed as anything.