Shloka 18
Adhyāya 6: Kaṅka (Yudhiṣṭhira) Seeks Refuge in Virāṭa’s Assembly
कृतानुयात्रा भूतैस्त्वं वरदा कामचारिणि । भारावतारे ये च त्वां संस्मरिष्यन्ति मानवा:
kṛtānuyātrā bhūtaiś tvaṃ varadā kāmacāriṇi | bhārāvatāre ye ca tvāṃ saṃsmariṣyanti mānavāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O goddess who is freely mobile at will, you are followed by beings and you grant boons to those who seek you. And those humans who, in order to cast off the burden of distress that has fallen upon them, will remember you—such people find nothing hard to obtain on this earth, whether sons, wealth, or abundance of grain.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes śaraṇāgati through smaraṇa: remembering and honoring a benevolent divine power in times of crisis is portrayed as a means to remove the ‘burden’ of suffering and to gain life-supporting goods (offspring, wealth, grain). Ethically, it frames devotion as a stabilizing refuge that restores hope and order amid adversity.
Vaiśampāyana describes a goddess characterized as freely roaming and a giver of boons. He states that beings follow her, and that humans who remember her to overcome pressing troubles will find prosperity and desired outcomes readily attainable.