Shloka 2

Virāṭa’s Mobilization to Recover the Cattle (गोधनरक्षणार्थ विराटस्य सैन्यसमायोजनम्)

Devanagari script

असकृन्निकृता: पूर्व मत्स्यशाल्वेयकै: प्रभो । सूतेनैव च मत्स्यस्थ कीचकेन पुन: पुन:,उसने कर्णकी ओर देखकर दुर्योधनसे कहा--'प्रभो! पहले मत्स्य तथा शाल्वदेशके सैनिकोंने अनेक बार चढ़ाई करके हमें कष्ट दिया है। मत्स्यराजके सेनापति महाबली सूतपुत्र कीचकने अपने बन्धुओंके साथ बार-बार आक्रमण करके मुझे बलपूर्वक सताया है

Transliteration

asakṛn nikṛtāḥ pūrva matsyaśālveyakaiḥ prabho | sūtenaiva ca matsyastha kīcakena punaḥ punaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô seigneur, jadis nous avons été maintes fois lésés par les Matsya et les Śālvaya. Et, encore et encore, Kīcaka —le commandant né des Sūta, en poste au pays des Matsya—, avec ses parents, m’a attaqué et harcelé par la force.»

Word by Word

• {'asakṛt': 'repeatedly, many times', 'nikṛtāḥ': 'deceived, injured, wronged (treated with hostility)', 'pūrva': 'formerly, earlier', 'matsya': 'the Matsya country/people', 'śālveyakaiḥ': 'by the Śālvayas/Śālveya people (instrumental plural)', 'prabho': 'O lord (vocative

• respectful address)', 'sūtena': 'by/with the sūta

• charioteer-lineage (instrumental)', 'eva': 'indeed, precisely', 'ca': 'and', 'matsyastha': 'situated in Matsya

• belonging/posted in the Matsya realm', 'kīcakena': 'by Kīcaka (instrumental)', 'punaḥ punaḥ': 'again and again'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Matsya (kingdom/people)
• Śālveya/Śālva (people/realm)
• Kīcaka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a moral-political theme: repeated aggression and coercion create enduring enmity and grievance. It frames injustice (nikṛti) and forceful harassment as ethically blameworthy acts that destabilize relations between kingdoms and individuals.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) complains to a lord that the Matsyas and Śālvayas have repeatedly caused harm, and that Kīcaka—Matsya’s powerful commander of sūta lineage—has again and again attacked and oppressed him along with his relatives.