Shloka 6
Yogakṣema, Purohita, and the Mucukunda–Vaiśravaṇa Dialogue (योगक्षेम–पुरोहित–मुचुकुन्दवैश्रवणसंवादः)
स हन्यमाने सैन्ये स्वे मुचुकुन्दो नराधिप: । गर्हयामास विद्धांसं पुरोहितमरिंदम:,इस प्रकार अपनी सेनाको मारी जाती देखकर शत्रुदमन राजा मुचुकुन्दने अपने विद्धान् पुरोहित वसिष्ठजीको इसके लिये उलाहना दिया
sa hanyamāne sainye sve mucukundo narādhipaḥ | garhayāmāsa viddhāṁsaṁ purohitam ariṁdamaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: When his own army was being cut down, King Mucukunda—subduer of foes—rebuked his learned family-priest. In the face of ruin, the king turned to the moral and ritual authority he relied upon, holding him responsible for the counsel and rites that were meant to secure protection and right order.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights accountability in leadership and counsel: when disaster strikes, a king scrutinizes the guidance and ritual assurances provided by his trusted priest. It raises an ethical question about where responsibility lies—between the ruler’s decisions, the adviser’s counsel, and the unpredictable outcomes of conflict.
As Mucukunda’s own forces are being slaughtered, he reacts by censuring his learned purohita (identified in the accompanying gloss as Vasiṣṭha), implying that the priest’s advice or rites failed to avert the calamity.