Shloka 33
Keśinī’s Inquiry to Bāhuka and the Emotional Signs of Concealed Identity (केशिन्याः बाहुकपरीक्षा)
तमुवाच कलिभ्भीतो वेपमान: कृताञज्जलि: । कोपं॑ संयच्छ नृपते कीर्ति दास्यामि ते पराम्,तब कलियुग भयभीत हो काँपता हुआ हाथ जोड़कर उनसे बोला--“महाराज! अपने क्रोधको रोकिये। मैं आपको उत्तम कीर्ति प्रदान करूँगा
tam uvāca kalibhītaḥ vepamānaḥ kṛtāñjaliḥ | kopaṃ saṃyaccha nṛpate kīrtiṃ dāsyāmi te parām ||
Then Kali, afraid and trembling, with palms joined in supplication, said to the king: “O ruler, restrain your anger. I shall bestow upon you the highest renown.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal of anger-restraint (kopa-saṃyama) as a hallmark of righteous kingship: true renown arises not from yielding to wrath but from mastering it, even when one is provoked or threatened.
A speaker, frightened of Kali and visibly trembling, approaches the king with folded hands and pleads for the king to curb his anger, promising in return to grant him supreme fame—an attempt to avert immediate punishment through an appeal to virtue and reputation.