Shloka 19
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
तस्य ते सैनिका राजंश्चक्रुस्तत्रानयात् बहून् । ततस्तु भगवान् विप्रो वसिष्ठो55श्रममभ्ययात्,राजन! उनके उन सैनिकोंने वहाँ बहुत-से अन्याय एवं अत्याचार किये। तदनन्तर पूज्य ब्रह्मर्षि वसिष्ठ कहींसे अपने आश्रमपर आये
tasya te sainikā rājan cakrus tatrānayāt bahūn | tatas tu bhagavān vipro vasiṣṭho ’śramam abhyayāt ||
O König, seine Soldaten verübten dort viele Taten der Ungerechtigkeit und Unterdrückung. Dann kam der ehrwürdige Brahmarṣi Vasiṣṭha, jener heilige Weise, zu seiner Einsiedelei—als kündige sich nach dem Unrecht die Abrechnung des Dharma an.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when armed power acts without restraint—‘anaya’ (injustice) leading to oppression—and contrasts it with the arrival of a revered sage, implying that dharma and moral authority ultimately confront wrongdoing.
The narrator states that certain soldiers committed many injustices at a location. Immediately afterward, the sage Vasiṣṭha arrives at his hermitage, signaling a turning point where the consequences of those misdeeds may be addressed.