Shloka 44
उद्योगपर्व (अध्याय १२९) — केशवस्य वैभवप्रदर्शनम् / Krishna’s Theophanic Display in the Kuru Assembly
अनेकयुगवर्षायुर्निहत्य नरक॑ मृथे । नीत्वा कन््यासहसत्राणि उपयेमे यथाविधि
anekayugavarṣāyur nihatyā narakaṁ mṛdhe | nītvā kanyāsahasrāṇi upayeme yathāvidhi ||
Vidura said: “Having slain Naraka in battle—one whose life-span extended over many ages—he carried away thousands of maidens and then married them in due form, according to the prescribed rites.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts violent conquest with the insistence on dharmic procedure: even after a martial act (slaying Naraka), the subsequent social act (marriage) is framed as being done yathāvidhi—according to lawful rites—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s concern that power must be restrained by dharma and proper conduct.
Vidura recounts an episode in which Naraka is killed in battle and thousands of maidens are taken and then married according to prescribed rites, presenting it as a remembered precedent within his counsel.