Shloka 29
Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas
Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva
ममैष लक्ष्यभूतो हि मम पूर्वपरिग्रह: । ममैव च प्रहारेण जीविताद् व्यपरोपित:,मैंने ही पहले इसे अपने बाणोंका निशाना बनाया, अतः तुमसे पहले इसपर मेरा अधिकार स्थापित हो चुका था। मेरे ही तीव्र प्रहारसे इस दानवको अपने प्राणोंसे हाथ धोना पड़ा है
mamaiṣa lakṣyabhūto hi mama pūrvaparigrahaḥ | mamaiva ca prahāreṇa jīvitād vyaparopitaḥ ||
“This one was first marked as my target; therefore the prior claim over him is mine. And it is by my very blow that he has been stripped of life.”
किरयात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ethical principle of prior claim: the one who first lawfully targets and accomplishes the deed (here, the killing blow) is entitled to the resulting right/ownership, emphasizing fairness and precedence in disputes.
The Kirāta argues in a dispute over a slain adversary that he had aimed first and that his strike caused the death; therefore, he insists the claim over the fallen being belongs to him rather than to the other party.