Shloka 5
बकवधोत्तर-प्रशमनम् | Post-slaying Stabilization after Baka’s Death
विरूपरूप: पिड़ाक्ष: करालो घोरदर्शन: । पिशितेप्सु: क्षुधार्तश्न॒ तानपश्यद् यदृच्छया,बेडौल रूप तथा भूरी आँखोंवाला वह विकराल राक्षस देखनेमें बड़ा डरावना था। भूखसे व्याकुल होकर वह कच्चा मांस खाना चाहता था। उसने अकस्मात् पाण्डवोंको देख लिया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | virūparūpaḥ piṅgākṣaḥ karālo ghoradarśanaḥ | piśitepsuḥ kṣudhārtaś ca tān apaśyad yadṛcchayā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: A misshapen, tawny-eyed rākṣasa—fanged and terrifying to behold—tormented by hunger and craving raw flesh, happened upon the Pāṇḍavas by chance and caught sight of them. The verse underscores the sudden intrusion of predatory violence into the forest life of the righteous, setting the stage for a dharmic response to an adharma-driven threat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts hunger-driven predation (adharma) with the implied need for righteous restraint and protection (dharma). It frames violence as arising from uncontrolled appetite and sets up the ethical necessity of confronting threats to the innocent.
A terrifying, flesh-craving rākṣasa, distressed by hunger, unexpectedly sees the Pāṇḍavas in the forest. This moment initiates a confrontation episode typical of the forest narratives in the epic.