Shloka 23
Draupadī-apaharaṇa-saṃdeśaḥ
Report of Draupadī’s Abduction and the Pāṇḍavas’ Pursuit
तस्मादस्माभिरप्यत्र दैत्या:शतसहस््रशः । नियुक्ता राक्षसाश्वैव ये ते संशप्तका इति,इसीलिये हमलोंगोंने भी एक लाख दैत्यों तथा राक्षसोंको इस काममें लगा रखा है, जो संशप्तक नामसे विख्यात हैं। वे वीर अर्जुनको मार डालेंगे। अत: आप शोक न करें। नरेश्वर! आपको इस पृथ्वीका निष्कंटक राज्य भोगना है
tasmād asmābhir apy atra daityāḥ śata-sahasraśaḥ | niyuktā rākṣasāś caiva ye te saṁśaptakā iti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Therefore, we too have stationed here countless Daityas—by the hundred-thousands—and Rakṣasas for this very task; they are known as the Saṁśaptakas. They will strike down the hero Arjuna. So do not grieve. O king, you are destined to enjoy an untroubled sovereignty over this earth.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a political-ethical motif: rulers and their agents often seek to remove obstacles to sovereignty through force and intimidation, yet such assurances rest on uncertain outcomes. It implicitly contrasts human confidence in strategy (deploying Saṁśaptakas) with the unpredictability of destiny and the moral weight of plotting a hero’s death.
The narrator reports that a party has already deployed vast numbers of Daityas and Rakṣasas—collectively called the Saṁśaptakas—tasked with killing Arjuna. The speaker uses this as reassurance to a king, urging him not to grieve and promising him a ‘thornless’ (unopposed) rule over the earth.