Mahabharata 3.39.28 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 39, Shloka 28
Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas
Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva
किरयात उवाच मयैष धन्वनिर्मुक्तैस्ताडित: पूर्वमेव हि । बाणैरभिहत: शेते नीतश्न॒ यमसादनम्
kirāta uvāca: mayaiṣa dhanvanirmuktaiḥ tāḍitaḥ pūrvam eva hi | bāṇair abhihataḥ śete nītaś ca yamasādanam ||
Der Kirāta sprach: „Wahrlich, ich hatte ihn schon zuvor mit Pfeilen getroffen, die ich von meinem Bogen löste. Von meinen Pfeilen verwundet, liegt er nun reglos da—hinweggetragen in die Wohnstatt Yamas.“
किरयात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights accountability in action and speech: the Kirāta asserts prior agency (“I struck first”), framing a dispute over rightful claim. Ethically, it points to how claims of merit or ownership in conflict must be grounded in truthful causality and responsibility for consequences, including death.
The Kirāta (Śiva in hunter guise) declares that the animal has already been hit by his arrows and is now dead—“taken to Yama’s abode.” This statement functions as a claim of precedence and sets the stage for contention over who truly brought down the quarry.
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