Shloka 39
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
अर्जुन बोले--भगवन्! बलाक नामक व्याध और नदियोंके संगमपर रहनेवाले कौशिक मुनिकी कथा कहिये, जिससे मैं इस विषयको अच्छी तरह समझ सकूँ ।।
Arjuna uvāca—bhagavan! balāka-nāmaka-vyādhaḥ nadīnāṃ saṅgame vasatā kauśikena muninā saha yā kathā, tāṃ kathaya, yayāham etad viṣayaṃ samyag avagaccheyam. Vāyudeva uvāca—purā vyādho 'bhavat kaścid balāko nāma, bhārata; yātrārthaṃ putra-dārasya mṛgān hanti na kāmataḥ.
Arjuna sprach: „O Gesegneter, erzähle mir die Geschichte des Jägers namens Balāka und des Weisen Kauśika, der am Zusammenfluss der Flüsse lebte, damit ich diese Sache klar verstehe.“ Vāyu sprach: „In alter Zeit, o Bhārata, gab es einen Jäger, der Balāka genannt wurde. Um Frau und Kinder zu erhalten und zu schützen, tötete er wilde Tiere — nicht aus Begierde und nicht aus Grausamkeit.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical distinction between harmful action done from desire (kāma) and the same action done under necessity for sustaining dependents (yātrārtha). It prepares a dharma-discussion where intention, motive, and context are crucial for moral evaluation.
Arjuna requests a clarifying exemplum: the story of the hunter Balāka and the sage Kauśika at a river-confluence. Vāyu begins the account by introducing Balāka as a hunter who kills game only to support his wife and children, not for pleasure.