Shloka 77
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
नाच्छित्त्वा परमर्माणि नाकृत्वा कर्म दारुणम् । नाहत्वा मत्स्यघातीव प्राप्रोति महतीं श्रियम्,राजा मछलीमारोंकी भाँति दूसरोंके मर्म विदीर्ण किये बिना, अत्यन्त क्रूर कर्म किये बिना तथा बहुतोंके प्राण लिये बिना बड़ी भारी सम्पत्ति नहीं पाता
nācchittvā paramarmāṇi nākṛtvā karma dāruṇam | nāhatvā matsyaghātīva prāpnoti mahatīṃ śriyam ||
Kaṇika said: A king does not attain great prosperity unless he has pierced others at their most vulnerable points, committed harsh and ruthless deeds, and—like a fisherman who kills fish—taken many lives.
कणिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a hard-edged, amoral political maxim: great royal prosperity is portrayed as requiring strategic harm—exploiting others’ vulnerabilities, performing ruthless acts, and even killing. It functions as a critique-worthy model of artha-driven statecraft that conflicts with dharma-centered ethics.
Kaṇika is speaking as a counselor, offering pragmatic (and morally troubling) guidance on how a ruler secures wealth and power. The fisherman simile underscores the normalizing of lethal violence as a means to gain ‘śrī’ (royal fortune).