Shloka 73

आदि पर्व, अध्याय 96 — काश्यकन्याहरणं, शाल्वसमागमः, अम्बावचनं च

Kāśī princesses taken; encounter with Śālva; Ambā’s declaration

Devanagari script

तस्यामप्येकचक्रायां बक॑ नाम राक्षसं हत्वा पाउचालनगरमधिगता:,एकचक्रामें भी बक नामवाले राक्षसका संहार करके वे पांचाल नगरमें चले गये

Transliteration

tasyām apy ekacakrāyāṃ baka-nāma rākṣasaṃ hatvā pāñcālanagaram adhigatāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Selbst in Ekacakrā erschlugen sie den Rākṣasa namens Baka; dann zogen sie (die Pāṇḍavas) weiter und erreichten die Stadt der Pāñcālas — nachdem sie eine schwere Bedrohung vom Volk abgewendet hatten und daraufhin ihre Reise im Verborgenen fortsetzten.

Word by Word

• तस्याम्: in that (city/place)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• एकचक्रायाम्: in Ekacakrā (the town named Ekacakrā)
• एकचक्रायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकचक्रा
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• बकम्: Baka (name)
• बकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नाम: by name/called
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम

• राक्षसम्: demon
• राक्षसम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Absolutive (त्वा), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• पाञ्चालनगरम्: the city of the Pāñcālas
• पाञ्चालनगरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाञ्चाल-नगर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अधिगताः: arrived/reached
• अधिगताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि-गम्
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Ekacakrā
• Baka (rākṣasa)
• Pāñcāla-nagara (city of the Pāñcālas)
• Pāṇḍavas (implied by context: 'they')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The episode highlights kṣatriya-dharma as protection of society: removing a violent threat (Baka) is portrayed as a righteous act that restores safety for ordinary people, after which the heroes continue their larger duty-bound journey.

What is happening in the narrative?

After staying in Ekacakrā, the Pāṇḍavas kill the rākṣasa Baka who terrorized the town. Then they depart and arrive at the Pāñcāla capital, setting the stage for the next major developments involving the Pāñcālas.