Shloka 23
Kīcaka-vadha-pratisaṃjñā: Rumor in Matsya and the Kaurava Scouts’ Report (कीचकवध-प्रतिसंज्ञा)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत विराटपर्वके अन्तर्गत कीचकवधपर्वमें तेईसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,बुह्॒त्न॒लोवाच बृहन्नलापि कल्याणि दुः:खमाप्रोत्यनुत्तमम् । तिर्यग्योनिगता बाले न चैनामवबुध्यसे बृहन्नलाने कहा--कल्याणी! पशुओंकी-सी नीच या नपुंसक योनिमें पड़कर बृहन्नला भी महान् दुःख भोग रही है, तू अभी भोली-भाली है; इसीलिये बृहन्नलाको नहीं समझ पाती
bṛhannalovāca—bṛhannalāpi kalyāṇi duḥkham āproty anuttamam | tiryagyonigatā bāle na cainām avabudhyase ||
Bṛhannalā berkata: “Wahai gadis berbudi, bahkan aku—Bṛhannalā—telah jatuh ke dalam keadaan yang amat menyakitkan. Setelah terjerumus ke keadaan rendah, laksana keadaan binatang, engkau masih polos; sebab itu engkau tidak sungguh memahami siapa diriku.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of hidden suffering: a person may endure intense humiliation or hardship under a disguise or degraded condition, and outsiders—especially the innocent—may fail to recognize the depth of that pain or the person’s true identity.
Bṛhannalā (Arjuna in concealment during the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito year) speaks to a young woman, explaining that she too bears extreme suffering by being forced into a low, socially diminished condition, and that the listener does not yet understand her true situation/identity.