Shloka 83

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration

Sañjaya’s Report

Devanagari script

निर्मोचने षघट्‌ सहस््राणि हत्वा संच्छिद्य पाशान्‌ सहसा क्षुरान्तान्‌ मुरं हत्वा विनिहत्यौघरक्षो निर्मोचनं चापि जगाम वीर:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

nirmocane ṣaṭ-sahasrāṇi hatvā sañchidhya pāśān sahasā kṣurāntān |

muraṃ hatvā vinihatyaugha-rakṣo nirmocanaṃ cāpi jagāma vīraḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Als der heldenhafte Śrī Kṛṣṇa die Außenbezirke von Nirmocana erreichte, zerschnitt er im Nu die rasiermesserscharfen eisernen Schlingen—sechstausend an der Zahl. Dann, nachdem er den Dämon Mura erschlagen und die gedrängten Scharen der Rākṣasas vernichtet hatte, trat er in die Stadt Nirmocana ein. Die Szene betont entschlossenes Handeln gegen gewaltsame Unterdrückung: Kraft wird nicht zur Eroberung eingesetzt, sondern um Fesseln zu sprengen, Schrecken zu bannen und Sicherheit wiederherzustellen.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'nirmocane', 'definition': "in/at Nirmocana (a place-name

• lit. 'release, unbinding')"}, {'term': 'ṣaṭ-sahasrāṇi', 'definition': 'six thousand'}, {'term': 'hatvā', 'definition': 'having slain/killed'}, {'term': 'sañchidhya', 'definition': 'having cut asunder, severed completely'}, {'term': 'pāśān', 'definition': 'nooses, bonds, snares (here: iron restraints/traps)'}, {'term': 'sahasā', 'definition': 'suddenly, swiftly, with force'}, {'term': 'kṣurāntān', 'definition': 'razor-edged

• having ends like a razor'}, {'term': 'muraṃ', 'definition': 'Mura (a demon slain by Kṛṣṇa)'}, {'term': 'vinihatya', 'definition': 'having struck down, destroyed'}, {'term': 'ogha-rakṣaḥ (augha-rakṣo)', 'definition': 'a flood/mass of rākṣasas

• hordes of demons'}, {'term': 'jagāma', 'definition': 'went, proceeded, entered'}, {'term': 'vīraḥ', 'definition': 'hero, valiant one (here: Kṛṣṇa)'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Nirmocana (city/place)
• Mura (demon)
• Rākṣasas (demonic hosts)
• pāśa (iron nooses/bonds)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents dharma as active protection: when coercive bonds and terror threaten society, a righteous protector may use swift, proportionate force to break restraints, remove violent aggressors, and restore safety—without making violence an end in itself.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Kṛṣṇa reaching Nirmocana’s boundary, cutting through six thousand razor-edged iron snares, killing the demon Mura, destroying the assembled rākṣasa forces, and then entering the city.