Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 24
Adhyāya 6: Kaṅka (Yudhiṣṭhira) Seeks Refuge in Virāṭa’s Assembly
व्याधिं मृत्युं भयं चैव पूजिता नाशयिष्यसि । सो5हं राज्यात् परिभ्रष्ट: शरणं त्वां प्रपन्नचान्
vyādhiṁ mṛtyuṁ bhayaṁ caiva pūjitā nāśayiṣyasi | so 'haṁ rājyāt paribhraṣṭaḥ śaraṇaṁ tvāṁ prapannaś ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “When duly honored, you will dispel disease, death, and fear. I—cast out from my kingdom—have come to you for refuge, surrendering myself to your protection.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge): when a worthy protector is honored and approached with humility, they are expected to remove fear and calamity; ethically, it frames protection of the surrendered as a duty and surrender as a legitimate response to loss and danger.
In the Virāṭa-parvan context, a dispossessed person speaks in a posture of dependence—declaring himself fallen from kingship and seeking shelter—while praising the addressee’s power to avert disease, death, and fear if properly honored.