Shloka 28
Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas
Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva
किरयात उवाच मयैष धन्वनिर्मुक्तैस्ताडित: पूर्वमेव हि । बाणैरभिहत: शेते नीतश्न॒ यमसादनम्,किरातरूपधारी शिव बोले--मैंने अपने धनुषद्वारा छोड़े हुए बाणोंसे पहले ही इसे घायल कर दिया था। मेरे ही बाणोंकी चोट खाकर यह सदाके लिये सो रहा है और यमलोकमें पहुँच गया
kirāta uvāca: mayaiṣa dhanvanirmuktaiḥ tāḍitaḥ pūrvam eva hi | bāṇair abhihataḥ śete nītaś ca yamasādanam ||
The Kirāta said: “Indeed, I had already struck this one earlier with arrows released from my bow. Wounded by my arrows, he now lies still—carried away to the abode of Yama.”
किरयात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights accountability in action and speech: the Kirāta asserts prior agency (“I struck first”), framing a dispute over rightful claim. Ethically, it points to how claims of merit or ownership in conflict must be grounded in truthful causality and responsibility for consequences, including death.
The Kirāta (Śiva in hunter guise) declares that the animal has already been hit by his arrows and is now dead—“taken to Yama’s abode.” This statement functions as a claim of precedence and sets the stage for contention over who truly brought down the quarry.