Shloka 18
Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः
निहत्य नरकं॑ भौममाहृत्य मणिकुण्डले । प्रथमोत्पतितं कृष्ण मेध्यमश्वमवासृज:,आप भूमिपुत्र नरकासुरको मारकर अदितिके दोनों मणिमय कुण्डलोंको ले आये थे; एवं आपने ही सृष्टिके आदिमें उत्पन्न होनेवाले यज्ञके उपयुक्त घोड़ेकी रचना की थी
nihatya narakaṃ bhaumam āhṛtya maṇikuṇḍale | prathamotpatitaṃ kṛṣṇa medhyam aśvam avāsṛjaḥ ||
Arjuna said: “After slaying Naraka, the son of Bhūmi, you recovered the jewel-like earrings. And you, O Kṛṣṇa, released the first-arisen, ritually pure horse fit for sacrifice.” In recalling these deeds, Arjuna points to Kṛṣṇa’s role as a restorer of what is unjustly taken and as a sustainer of Vedic order—power used not for conquest, but for re-establishing rightful possession and sacred duty.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate power is shown as dharma-protecting: Kṛṣṇa destroys an oppressor (Naraka), restores what was wrongfully taken (the jewel earrings), and upholds sacred order by enabling yajña through the release of a ritually fit horse.
Arjuna addresses Kṛṣṇa, recalling two famed deeds: the slaying of Naraka (Bhauma) and the recovery of the jewel earrings, and also Kṛṣṇa’s act of releasing a primordial, sacrifice-worthy horse—invoking Kṛṣṇa’s capacity to both punish adharma and sustain Vedic rites.