Mahabharata 7.182.33 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 182, Shloka 33
अथापरे निहता राक्षसेन्द्रा हिडिम्बकिर्मीरवकप्रधाना: । अलायुध: परचक्रावमर्दी घटोत्कचश्नोग्रकर्मा तरस्वी
athāpare nihatā rākṣasendrā hiḍimbakirmīravakapra-dhānāḥ | alāyudhaḥ paracakrāvamardī ghaṭotkacaś cogra-karmā tarasvī ||
বায়ু বললেন—এদের অতিরিক্ত হিড়িম্ব, কির্মীর ও বক প্রমুখ অন্যান্য রাক্ষসরাজও নিহত হয়েছে। শত্রুসেনা-দলনকারী আলায়ুধ এবং ভয়ংকর কর্মে ত্বরিত ঘটোৎকচও তোমাদের কল্যাণের জন্যই হত্যা করতে ও নিহত হতে নিয়োজিত হয়েছিল।
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames violent deaths within a providential-ethical lens: even formidable beings who kill and are killed can be instruments in a larger order aimed at the welfare of the righteous side. It suggests that outcomes in war are not merely personal triumphs but can serve a broader, divinely guided purpose.
Vāyudeva lists notable Rākṣasa figures—Hiḍimba, Kirmīra, Baka, Alāyudha, and Ghaṭotkaca—stating that their slayings (and their own acts of slaying) occurred for the addressee’s benefit, emphasizing how these powerful warriors affected the course of the conflict.
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