Shloka 19
Hiḍimbā’s Petition, Conditional Union with Bhīma, and the Birth-Naming of Ghaṭotkaca (आदि पर्व, अध्याय १४३)
ततः कृतस्वस्त्ययना राज्यलम्भाय पार्थिवा: । कृत्वा सर्वाणि कार्याणि प्रययुर्वारणावतम्,तब राज्य-लाभके लिये स्वस्तिवाचन करा समस्त आवश्यक कार्य पूर्ण करके राजकुमार पाण्डव वारणावत नगरको गये
tataḥ kṛtasvastyayanā rājyālambhāya pārthivāḥ | kṛtvā sarvāṇi kāryāṇi prayayur vāraṇāvatam ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Daraufhin ließen die königlichen Prinzen, um den Erwerb des Reiches zu sichern, glückverheißende Segenssprüche rezitieren; nachdem sie alle notwendigen Angelegenheiten erledigt hatten, brachen sie nach Vāraṇāvata auf. Die Episode macht deutlich, wie politische Ziele nach außen hin durch Ritual geheiligt werden, während die größere Erzählung auf einen moralisch bedenklichen Anschlag gegen die Pāṇḍava zusteuert.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how worldly political objectives (rājya-lambha, gaining the kingdom) are often pursued under the cover of auspicious rites and formal propriety. It invites reflection on the ethical tension between outward ritual correctness and the inner intentions driving political action in the surrounding narrative.
After arranging auspicious blessings and completing preparations, the royal princes (the Pāṇḍavas) depart for the city of Vāraṇāvata. In the Adi Parva storyline, this journey leads into the well-known sequence of events connected with the plot against them at Vāraṇāvata.