Shloka 30
Kuntī–Sūrya-saṃvāda: Autonomy, Reputation, and the Promise of Karṇa
न चैषा देहभेदेन हता स्यादिति मे मति: । जहि भर्तारमेवास्या हते तस्मिन् हता भवेत्,“इसके शरीरके टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर देनेसे ही इसका वध नहीं होगा, ऐसा मेरा विचार है। इसके पतिको ही मार डालिये। उसके मारे जानेपर यह स्वतः मर जायगी
na caiṣā dehabhedena hatā syād iti me matiḥ | jahi bhartāram evāsyā hate tasmin hatā bhavet ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “In my judgment, she will not be slain merely by cutting her body into pieces. Kill her husband instead; when he is killed, she will die of herself.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a stark claim that a person’s death may be determined not only by physical injury but by a decisive relational or karmic condition—here, the woman’s life is depicted as contingent on her husband’s life. It raises ethical questions about instrumental reasoning in violence and the portrayal of marital dependence.
Mārkaṇḍeya offers counsel about how to kill a particular woman. He asserts that dismembering her body will not succeed, and advises instead that her husband be killed; once he is slain, she will die automatically.