Shloka 16
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
भर्तरें भक्षयामास व्याप्रो मृगमिवेप्सितम् । तस्या: क्रोधाभिभूताया यान्यश्रूण्यपतन् भुवि,इस प्रकार ब्राह्मगी करुण विलाप करती हुई याचना कर रही थी, तो भी जैसे व्याप्र मनचाहे मृगको मारकर खा जाता है, उसी प्रकार राजाने अत्यन्त निर्दयीकी भाँति ब्राह्यणीके पतिको खा लिया। उस समय क्रोधसे पीड़ित हुई ब्राह्मणीके नेत्रोंसे धरतीपर आँसुओंकी जो बूँदें गिरी, वे सब प्रज्वलित अग्नि बन गयीं। उस अग्निने उस स्थानको जलाकर भस्म कर दिया। तदनन्तर पतिके वियोगसे व्यथित एवं शोकसंतप्त ब्राह्मणीने रोषमें भरकर राजर्षि कल्माषपादको शाप दिया--'ओ नीच! मेरी पतिविषयक कामना अभी पूर्ण नहीं हो पायी थी, तभी तूने अत्यन्त क्रूरकी भाँति मेरे देखते-देखते आज मेरे महायशस्वी प्रियतम पतिको अपना ग्रास बना लिया है; अतः दुर्बुद्धे! तू भी मेरे शापसे पीड़ित हुआ ऋतुकालमें पत्नीके साथ समागम करते ही तत्काल प्राण त्याग देगा। जिन महर्षि वसिष्ठके पुत्रोंका तुमने संहार किया है, उन्हींसे समागम करके तेरी पत्नी पुत्र पैदा करेगी। नृूपाधम! वही पुत्र तेरा वंश चलानेवाला होगा”
bhartāraṁ bhakṣayāmāsa vyāghro mṛgam ivepsitam | tasyāḥ krodhābhibhūtāyā yāny aśrūṇy apatan bhuvi ||
The Gandharva said: Like a tiger that seizes and devours a desired deer, the king devoured the Brahmin woman’s husband. Overwhelmed by rage, the tears that fell from her eyes onto the earth blazed into fire, burning that place to ashes. Then, tormented by separation and grief, she pronounced a curse upon the royal sage Kalmāṣapāda: because he had cruelly consumed her husband before her longing for marital union was fulfilled, he would die the very moment he approached his wife in her fertile season; and his wife would bear a son through union with the very line of Vasiṣṭha whose offspring he had destroyed—thus that son would continue his lineage. The episode frames the ethical collapse caused by violence and uncontrolled appetite, and the fearful moral force attributed to a wronged, truth-speaking ascetic woman.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrestrained violence and appetite—especially by a ruler—destroys dharma and invites inevitable consequence. The passage also highlights the moral authority attributed to a grievously wronged, truth-speaking ascetic woman: her curse functions as ethical retribution when worldly justice fails.
A king, compared to a tiger, devours a Brahmin woman’s husband despite her lament. Enraged, her tears are described as turning into fire that burns the place, and she then curses King Kalmāṣapāda with death upon approaching his wife in her fertile season and foretells that his lineage will continue through a son connected with Vasiṣṭha’s line.