Shloka 19
कुन्ती द्वारा ब्राह्मण-सेवा
Kuntī’s Regulated Hospitality to a Brāhmaṇa Guest
सुदीर्घमिव नि:श्वस्य समुत्पत्य वरासनात् । उवाच कुम्भकर्णस्य कर्मकालोडयमागत:,उनके मुखसे श्रेष्ठ वानर वीरोंद्वारा युद्धमें सेनासहित प्रहस्त तथा महाधनुर्धर धूम्राक्षके मारे जानेका वृत्तान्त सुनकर रावण बड़ी देरतक शोकभरे उच्छवास लेता रहा। फिर वह अपने श्रेष्ठ सिंहासनसे उछलकर खड़ा हो गया और बोला--“अब यह कुम्भकर्णके पराक्रम दिखलानेका समय आ गया है”
sudīrgham iva niḥśvasya samutpatya varāsanāt | uvāca kumbhakarṇasya karmakālo ’yam āgataḥ ||
Markandeya said: Having heaved a long, grief-laden sigh, he sprang up from his splendid throne and declared, “Now the time has come for Kumbhakarna to act.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a psychological and ethical pivot in leadership: grief at loss is real, but a leader may channel it into decisive action. It implicitly invites reflection on whether such decisiveness serves dharma or merely intensifies adharma through further violence.
After a prolonged sigh, the speaker describes someone rising abruptly from a throne and announcing that the moment has arrived for Kumbhakarna to take up his role—signaling a new phase of the conflict by calling upon a powerful warrior.