Shloka 16
नहि मे मुच्यते कश्चित् कथंचित् प्रग्रहं गतः गजो वा महिषो वापि षछ्ले काले नरोत्तम,“नरश्रेष्ठ। दिनके छठे भागमें कोई भैंसा अथवा हाथी ही क्यों न हो, मेरी पकड़में आ जानेपर किसी तरह छूट नहीं सकता
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: nahi me mucyate kaścit kathaṃcit pragrahaṃ gataḥ; gajo vā mahiṣo vāpi ṣaṣṭhe kāle narottama.
Wahai insan terbaik! Tiada seorang pun yang telah masuk dalam cengkeramanku dapat lolos dengan cara apa pun—entah gajah atau kerbau—terlebih ketika tiba bagian keenam dari siang hari.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights unwavering determination and the claim of irresistible control once someone is seized. Ethically, it invites reflection on whether strength is being used as rightful restraint or as coercive domination—an important tension in the Mahābhārata’s treatment of dharma.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the events, reports a speaker’s emphatic declaration: once a being—however strong, like an elephant or buffalo—falls into his grasp, escape is impossible, particularly at a specified time marker (“the sixth part of the day”), which functions as a dramatic emphasis within the episode.