Shloka 4
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 147 — Kanyā-paridevita
The daughter’s lament on lineage and protection
! कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां रात्रावस्यां पुरोचन: । भवनस्य तव द्वारि प्रदास्यति हुताशनम्,“इसी कृष्णपक्षकी चतुर्दशीकी रातको पुरोचन आपके घरके दरवाजेपर आग लगा देगा
kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāṃ rātrāv asyāṃ purocanaḥ | bhavanasya tava dvāri pradāsyati hutāśanam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “On this very night of the fourteenth lunar day in the dark fortnight, Purocana will set fire at the door of your dwelling.” The line signals a deliberate, premeditated act of arson—an unethical stratagem aimed at destroying the intended victims under cover of night, highlighting the collapse of righteous conduct in political intrigue.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how adharma operates through secrecy and calculated harm: setting fire to a home is not merely violence but a betrayal of social and royal duty. It implicitly warns that power pursued through deceit and cruelty corrodes righteousness and endangers the innocent.
A specific time is announced—caturdaśī night in the dark fortnight—when Purocana is to ignite a fire at the entrance of the listener’s house. It functions as a forewarning of an assassination attempt by arson, setting the stage for escape and countermeasures in the surrounding episode.