Shloka 36
Post–Baka-vadha Residence and the Introduction of Yājñasenī’s Svayaṃvara (आदि पर्व, अध्याय १५३)
न तावदेतान् हिंसिष्ये स्वपन्त्वेते यथासुखम् । एष त्वामेव दुर्बुद्धे निहन्म्यद्याप्रियंवदम्
na tāvad etān hiṁsiṣye svapantv ete yathāsukham | eṣa tvām eva durbuddhe nihannmy adyāpriyaṁvadam ||
Hidimba said: “Not yet will I harm these men; let them sleep in comfort as they please. But you—foolish one, who speaks what is displeasing—I will kill you today.”
हिडिग्ब उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within a violent, rākṣasa context, the verse highlights a moral contrast: the sleeping are spared for the moment, while the target is singled out as blameworthy for ‘unpleasant speech’—suggesting that harmful speech is treated as an ethical fault that can provoke grave consequences.
Hidimba declares he will not immediately attack the group who are asleep, allowing them to rest undisturbed; instead, he turns his threat toward a specific person he rebukes as ‘durbuddhi’ and ‘apriyaṁvada’, vowing to kill that individual that very day.