Shloka 35
Kubera’s Arrival and the Disclosure of Agastya’s Curse
Vaiśaṃpāyana–Janamejaya Narrative
नाहं ब्रूयां पुनर्जातु क्षत्रियोडस्मीति भारत | भो भो राक्षस तिष्ठस्व सहदेवो5स्मि पाण्डव:,“भारत! हम विजयी हों या मारे जाय, सभी दशाओंमें उत्तम गति प्राप्त कर सकते हैं। यदि इस राक्षसके जीते-जी सूर्य डूब गये, तो मैं फिर कभी अपनेको क्षत्रिय नहीं कहूँगा। अरे ओ निशाचर! खड़ा रह, मैं पाण्डुकुमार सहदेव हूँ, या तो तू मुझे मारकर द्रौपदीको ले जा या स्वयं मेरे हाथों मारा जाकर आज यहीं सदाके लिये सो जा।' माद्रीनन्दन सहदेव जब ऐसी बात कह रहे थे, उसी समय अकस्मात् गदा हाथमें लिये भीमसेन दिखायी दिये, मानो वज्रधारी इन्द्र आ पहुँचे हों। उन्होंने वहाँ (राक्षसके अधिकारमें पड़े हुए) अपने दोनों भाइयों तथा यशस्विनी द्रौपदीको देखा
naahaṃ brūyāṃ punar jātu kṣatriyo ’smīti bhārata | bho bho rākṣasa tiṣṭhasva sahadevo ’smi pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, I would never again call myself a kṣatriya if, while this rākṣasa still lives, the sun were to set. Hey, hey rākṣasa—stand your ground! I am Sahadeva, a son of Pāṇḍu. Either kill me and take Draupadī away, or be slain by my hands and lie here forever.” As Mādrī’s son Sahadeva spoke thus, Bhīmasena suddenly appeared with a mace in hand, like Indra bearing the thunderbolt. He saw there his two brothers and the illustrious Draupadī under the rākṣasa’s power.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya-dharma as a moral commitment: a warrior’s honor is tied to protecting others and refusing to accept disgraceful inaction. Sahadeva frames his identity as conditional on courageous duty—if he lets the threat stand until sunset, he considers himself unworthy of the kṣatriya name.
Sahadeva confronts a rākṣasa holding the Pāṇḍavas’ kin under control and issues a direct challenge, offering his own life rather than allow Draupadī to be taken. At that tense moment, Bhīma suddenly appears with a mace, compared to Indra with the vajra, and sees his brothers and Draupadī in the rākṣasa’s grasp.