Shloka 26
Draupadī’s Rebuke of Jayadratha and Dhaumya’s Admonition (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 252)
कर्मसिद्धौ तदा तत्र जूम्भमाणा महाद्धुता । कृत्या समुत्थिता राजन् कि करोमीति चाब्रवीत्
karmasiddhau tadā tatra jṛmbhamāṇā mahādbhūtā | kṛtyā samutthitā rājan kiṃ karomīti cābravīt ||
Wahai Raja! Ketika upacara mencapai kesempurnaan, di tempat itu dari lubang yajña bangkitlah sebuah kṛtyā yang amat menakjubkan, muncul sambil menguap; lalu ia berkata kepada sang raja: “Apa yang harus kulakukan?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power generated through ritual or intention is ethically neutral until directed; therefore the moral burden lies on the agent who initiates it. The kṛtyā’s question highlights accountability: once a harmful force is successfully produced, one must choose whether to restrain it or deploy it, and that choice bears karmic and dharmic consequences.
At the completion of a sacrificial/ritual act, a supernatural being called a kṛtyā manifests from the sacrificial setting, appearing in an uncanny, awe-inspiring manner. She addresses the king and asks for instructions—signaling that the rite has succeeded and the created force now awaits its assigned task.