Shloka 27
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
ब्राह्मणा: कुरुमुख्यस्य ये मुक्ता हपसारिण: । कुर्वन्ति शान्तिं कामस्य रणे यो5यं मया हत:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
brāhmaṇāḥ kurumukhyasya ye muktāḥ apasāriṇaḥ |
kurvanti śāntiṃ kāmasya raṇe yo ’yaṃ mayā hataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Oh, el mejor de los kurus: los brāhmaṇas que fueron designados para acompañar al principal de los Kuru (el rey) y que se ocupaban de los ritos apaciguadores, los śānti—¿qué clase de “śānti” estaban realizando para éste, que ha sido muerto por mí en el campo de batalla? (Si tales ritos obraban, ¿cómo pudo ocurrir esta muerte?)»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between ritual protection (śānti-karman) and the inexorability of fate/karma in wartime: even when priests perform pacificatory rites for auspicious outcomes, violence and death may still occur, prompting reflection on the limits of ritual versus ethical action and destiny.
In the Aśvamedhika context, priests are described as accompanying the royal enterprise and performing śānti rites. The speaker points out that a person has nevertheless been slain in battle by him, questioning what pacificatory rite was being done for that person if it did not avert the fatal outcome.