Shloka 83
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
दण्डेनोपनतं शत्रुमनुगृह्नाति यो नर: । स मृत्युमुपगृह्नीयाद् गर्भमश्वतरी यथा,जो मनुष्य दण्डके द्वारा वशमें किये हुए शत्रुपर दया करता है, वह मौतको ही अपनाता है--ठीक उसी तरह जैसे खच्चरी गर्भके रूपमें अपनी मृत्युको ही उदरमें धारण करती है
daṇḍenopanataṃ śatrum anugṛhṇāti yo naraḥ | sa mṛtyum upagṛhṇīyād garbham aśvatarī yathā ||
Kaṇika dijo: «Quien muestra misericordia a un enemigo ya sometido por el castigo, en verdad abraza su propia muerte—como la mula, que al llevar una cría en el vientre, se dice que lleva la muerte dentro.»
कणिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
In Kaṇika’s hard-edged political ethic, sparing an enemy who has already been subdued by force is portrayed as a fatal mistake; mercy in such a context is not praised as dharma but criticized as endangering one’s own life and rule.
Kaṇika is delivering counsel in the Adi Parva’s discourse on policy and governance, using a striking simile—“like a mule carrying death in its womb”—to warn that leniency toward a controlled adversary can rebound disastrously on the ruler.