Shloka 26
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
अथ वक्षित् कृतप्रज्ञ: शृगाल: स्वार्थपण्डित:
atha vakṣit kṛtaprajñaḥ śṛgālaḥ svārthapaṇḍitaḥ
Then the jackal—self-possessed and shrewd, a “wise man” only in the service of his own advantage—spoke.
काणिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces a model of intelligence divorced from dharma: a ‘wise’ figure whose learning serves self-interest. It cautions that counsel can be rhetorically polished and mentally composed yet ethically compromised, and that one should evaluate advice by its moral aim, not merely by the adviser’s cleverness.
Kāṇika continues his speech by introducing (or characterizing) a ‘jackal’ figure—composed and crafty—who begins to speak. The narrative cue prepares the listener for strategic, possibly manipulative counsel, using the jackal as a literary emblem of opportunistic policy.