Shloka 115
Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः
लब्धाहमपि तत्रैव वसता सव्यसाचिना । यथा त्वया जिता कृष्ण रुक्मिणी भीष्मकात्मजा,श्रीकृष्ण! जैसे आपने भीष्मकनन्दिनी रुक्मिणीको जीता था, उसी प्रकार मेरे पिताकी राजधानीमें रहते समय सव्यसाची अर्जुनने मुझे जीता
labdhāham api tatraiva vasatā savyasācinā | yathā tvayā jitā kṛṣṇa rukmiṇī bhīṣmakātmajā ||
“Even I was won there, while Savyasācin (Arjuna) was dwelling in my father’s capital—just as you, O Kṛṣṇa, won Rukmiṇī, the daughter of Bhīṣmaka.” (The speaker compares Arjuna’s decisive victory over him to Kṛṣṇa’s famed winning of Rukmiṇī, framing both as acts of prowess and rightful attainment.)
राक्षस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how exemplary deeds become moral and narrative benchmarks: a present victory is interpreted through a renowned precedent (Kṛṣṇa’s winning of Rukmiṇī), suggesting that fame, valor, and rightful attainment shape how actions are judged and remembered.
A rākṣasa speaker recounts being overcome by Arjuna while Arjuna lived in the speaker’s father’s capital, and he likens that defeat to Kṛṣṇa’s celebrated winning of Rukmiṇī, thereby emphasizing Arjuna’s prowess through comparison with Kṛṣṇa’s famed exploit.