Shloka 30
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 29 — Arjuna’s defeat of Vṛṣaka–Acalā and the neutralization of Śakuni’s māyā
तं तु कालमनुप्राप्तं विदित्वा पृथिवी तदा । अयाचत वरं यन्मां नरकार्थाय तच्छुणु,“एक बार जब कि वही समय प्राप्त था, पृथ्वीदेवीने अपने पुत्र नरकासुरके लिये मुझसे जो वर माँगा, उसे सुनो
taṃ tu kālam anuprāptaṃ viditvā pṛthivī tadā | ayācata varaṃ yan māṃ narakārthāya tac chṛṇu ||
Sañjaya said: “When that destined time had arrived, the Earth-goddess, recognizing it, then asked me for a boon on behalf of her son Narakāsura. Listen to what she requested.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds kāla (the ripening of time) as a moral and narrative force: when the destined moment arrives, even divine beings act within that framework. It also hints at the ethical weight of boons—requests made out of attachment can shape future suffering and responsibility.
Sañjaya signals a flashback or explanatory aside: he is about to recount how the Earth-goddess (Bhūdevī) approached him at the appropriate time and asked for a boon intended to benefit her son Narakāsura.