Shloka 16
Kīcaka-vadha-pratisaṃjñā: Rumor in Matsya and the Kaurava Scouts’ Report (कीचकवध-प्रतिसंज्ञा)
भीमसेन उवाच ये पुरा विचरन्तीह पुरुषा वशवर्तिन: । तस्यास्ते वचन श्रुत्वा हनूणा विहरन्त्वतः
bhīmasena uvāca ye purā vicarantīha puruṣā vaśavartinaḥ | tasyās te vacanaṃ śrutvā hanūṇā viharantu ataḥ ||
Bhīmasena sprach: „O Göttin, jene Männer, die seit Langem hier unter deinem Befehl umhergehen, sollen, nachdem sie dein Wort vernommen haben, von ihrem Gelübde entbunden werden und nach ihrem Wunsch frei umherziehen.“
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Authority should be exercised with restraint: once a rightful command is fulfilled or a promise is satisfied, people should be released from binding obligations and allowed autonomy, reflecting fairness and dharma.
Bhīma addresses a revered lady as ‘Devī’ and requests that men who have been acting under her orders be freed from their pledged duty, so they may move about according to their own will.