Shloka 64
Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः
दासीभावेन मां भोक्तुमीषुस्ते मधुसूदन । जीवत्सु पाण्डुपुत्रेषु पज्चालेषु च वृष्णिषु,मधुसूदन! पाण्डवों, पांचालों और वृष्णिवंशी वीरोंके जीते-जी धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्रोंने दासीभावसे मेरा उपभोग करनेकी इच्छा प्रकट की
dāsībhāvena māṁ bhoktum īṣuḥ te madhusūdana | jīvatsu pāṇḍuputreṣu pāñcāleṣu ca vṛṣṇiṣu ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Madhusūdana, the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra expressed the desire to possess me as a slave-woman—seeking to reduce me to servitude—even while the sons of Pāṇḍu, the Pāñcālas, and the Vṛṣṇi heroes were still alive.” The line underscores the Kauravas’ moral collapse: an attempt to dishonor a woman and violate dharma through humiliation and coercive domination, despite the presence of powerful protectors and rightful allies.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights adharma as the will to degrade and exploit—especially the attempt to reduce a woman to servitude and ‘enjoy’ her as property. It implies that true strength and kingship are measured by restraint and protection of dignity, not by coercive domination.
Vaiśampāyana reports a grievous intention of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons: they sought to treat the speaker (contextually a woman being dishonored) as a slave-woman, even though the Pāṇḍavas, the Pāñcālas, and the Vṛṣṇis—her rightful protectors and allies—were still alive and capable of responding.