Shloka 80
Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः
भोजने भीमसेनस्य पाप: प्राक्षेपयद् विषम् । कालकूटं नवं तीक्ष्णं सम्भूतं लोमहर्षणम्,जिस पापीने भीमसेनके भोजनमें नूतन, तीक्ष्ण, परिमाणमें अधिक एवं रोमांचकारी कालकूट नामक विष डलवा दिया था
vaiśampāyana uvāca | bhojane bhīmasenasya pāpaḥ prākṣepayad viṣam | kālakūṭaṃ navaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ sambhūtaṃ lomaharṣaṇam |
Vaiśampāyana said: A sinful man caused poison to be mixed into Bhīmasena’s food—freshly prepared, exceedingly sharp in potency, the dreadful poison called Kālakūṭa, so terrifying that it makes one’s hair stand on end. The passage underscores the gravity of treachery: harming another through deceitful means is portrayed as a profoundly adharmic act.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns covert harm and betrayal: administering poison through deception is presented as a deeply sinful, adharmic act, highlighting that unethical means—especially treachery against the unsuspecting—carry grave moral weight.
The narrator states that a wicked person arranged for Bhīmasena’s food to be laced with a terrifying, highly potent poison called Kālakūṭa, indicating an attempted murder by stealth rather than open confrontation.