Shloka 3
तापती–संवरणोपाख्यानम्
The Tapatī–Saṃvaraṇa Episode: Meaning of “Tāpatya”
समीपे नगरस्यास्य बको वसति राक्षस: । (इतो गव्यूतिमात्रेडस्ति यमुनागद्नरे गुहा । तस्यां घोर: स वसति जिधघांसु: पुरुषादक: ।।) ईशो जनपदस्यास्य पुरस्थ च महाबल:,इस नगरके पास ही यहाँसे दो कोसकी दूरीपर यमुनाके किनारे घने जंगलमें एक गुफा है, उसीमें एक भयंकर हिंसाप्रिय नरभक्षी राक्षस रहता है। उसका नाम है बक। वह राक्षस अत्यन्त बलवान् है। वही इस जनपद और नगरका स्वामी है। वह खोटी बुद्धिवाला मनुष्यभक्षी राक्षस मनुष्यके ही मांससे पुष्ट हुआ है। उस दुरात्मा नरभक्षी निशाचरद्वारा प्रतिदिन खायी जाती हुई यह नगरी अनाथ हो रही है। इसे कोई रक्षक या स्वामी नहीं मिल रहा है। राक्षसोचित-बलसे सम्पन्न वह शक्तिशाली असुरराज सदा इस जनपद, नगर और देशकी रक्षा करता है। उसके कारण हमें शत्रुराज्यों तथा हिंसक प्राणियोंसे कभी भय नहीं होता
samīpe nagarasyāsya bako vasati rākṣasaḥ | (ito gavyūtimātreḍasti yamunāgadnare guhā | tasyāṃ ghoraḥ sa vasati jidhaghāṃsuḥ puruṣādakaḥ ||) īśo janapadasyāsya purastha ca mahābalaḥ |
The brāhmaṇa said: “Near this city there lives a rākṣasa named Baka. Not far from here—about a gavyūti away—on the bank of the Yamunā, in a dense forest, there is a cave; in that cave dwells that dreadful being, eager to kill, a man-eater. He is exceedingly powerful and acts as the master of this district and of the city. The people endure his predation day after day, and the city is becoming helpless, as if without a protector. Yet, by the sheer force typical of rākṣasas, he also keeps other enemies and violent creatures at bay, so the land lives in fearful dependence upon a cruel guardian.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights an ethical tension: a community may gain security from a powerful protector, yet if that power is cruel and predatory, the ‘protection’ becomes oppression. Dharma requires protection that does not violate the basic safety and dignity of the people.
A brāhmaṇa explains that a man-eating rākṣasa named Baka lives near the city in a cave by the Yamunā. He is extremely strong and effectively rules the region, preying on the inhabitants while also deterring other threats—making the city dependent on a terrifying overlord.