Shloka 23
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
कृपा न तस्मिन् कर्तव्या हन्यादेवापकारिणम् | हन्यादमित्रं सान्त्वेन तथा दानेन वा पुन:
kṛpā na tasmin kartavyā hanyādevāpakāriṇam | hanyādamitraṃ sāntvena tathā dānena vā punaḥ ||
‘One should show no misplaced pity toward such a person; the wrongdoer must be struck down. An enemy, too, should be overcome—whether by conciliation or, again, by gifts.’
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Compassion must be guided by discernment: toward an active wrongdoer, indulgent pity is treated as harmful, and firm action is advised; toward an enemy, one may subdue him through pragmatic means such as conciliation or gifts, i.e., policy choices aimed at neutralizing hostility.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the epic, voices a counsel-like maxim within the ongoing account: it frames how one should respond to harm and enmity—either by decisive punishment of the offender or by strategic measures (conciliation or gifting) to bring an enemy under control.