Shloka 79

Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः

Devanagari script

य एतानाक्षिपद्‌ राष्ट्रात्‌ सह मात्राविहिंसकान्‌ । अधीयानान्‌ पुरा बालान्‌ व्रतस्थान्‌ मधुसूदन,मधुसूदन! पहले बाल्यावस्थामें, जब कि पाण्डव ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करते हुए अध्ययनमें लगे थे, किसीकी हिंसा नहीं करते थे, जिन दुष्टने इन्हें इनकी माताके साथ राज्यसे बाहर निकाल दिया था

Transliteration

ya etān ākṣipad rāṣṭrāt saha mātrā-vihiṃsakān | adhīyānān purā bālān vrata-sthān madhusūdana ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Madhusūdana, who was it that drove these (Pāṇḍavas) out of the kingdom together with their mother—though in earlier days they were mere boys, engaged in study, established in the vow (of brahmacarya), and harmless, causing injury to none?”

Word by Word

• {'yaḥ': 'who (that person)', 'etān': 'these (persons

• the Pāṇḍavas)', 'ākṣipat': 'cast out, expelled, drove away', 'rāṣṭrāt': 'from the kingdom/state', 'saha': 'together with', 'mātrā': 'with (their) mother', 'avihiṃsakān': 'non-violent, not harming anyone', 'adhīyānān': 'studying, engaged in learning (Vedic study)', 'purā': 'formerly, earlier', 'bālān': 'boys, youths', 'vrata-sthān': 'standing in a vow

• established in religious discipline (esp. brahmacarya)', 'madhusūdana': '‘Slayer of Madhu’, an epithet of Kṛṣṇa (vocative address)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)
• Pāṇḍavas
• their mother (Kuntī)
• rāṣṭra (the kingdom)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of unjust punishment: even those who are disciplined, devoted to study, and non-violent can be wronged by political power. It implicitly condemns adharma in governance—expelling the innocent—and frames rightful kingship as protection of the blameless.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Kṛṣṇa (Madhusūdana) and recalls the earlier situation when the Pāṇḍavas, still young and living under brahmacarya discipline, were expelled from the kingdom along with their mother. The line functions as a pointed reminder of the injustice that set their suffering in motion.