Shloka 59
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
यः स्यादनुप्राप्तवधस्तस्यागारं प्रदीपयेत् अधनान् नास्तिकांश्लौरान् विषये स्वे न वासयेत्,जिसे शीघ्र ही मार डालनेकी इच्छा हो, उसके घरमें आग लगा दे। धनहीनों, नास्तिकों और चोरोंको अपने राज्यमें न रहने दे
yaḥ syād anuprāptavadhas tasyāgāraṃ pradīpayet | adhanān nāstikāṃś caurān viṣaye sve na vāsayet ||
Kaṇika said: “If there is someone whose death you wish to bring about without delay, set fire to his house. And within your own realm, do not allow the destitute, the irreligious, and thieves to reside.”
कणिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents hard-edged, morally troubling counsel attributed to Kaṇika: eliminate an enemy through arson and maintain strict internal control by excluding groups seen as destabilizing (the poor, irreligious, and thieves). It reflects a strand of pragmatic statecraft (nīti) rather than an idealized dharmic ethic.
Kaṇika is speaking as an adviser, offering political tactics for securing power and order in a kingdom. The counsel includes both an aggressive measure against a targeted person (burning his house) and a policy recommendation about who should not be allowed to live within the ruler’s territory.