Shloka 34
Kubera’s Arrival and the Disclosure of Agastya’s Curse
Vaiśaṃpāyana–Janamejaya Narrative
जयन्तो हन्यमाना वा प्राप्तुमर्हाम सदगतिम् । राक्षसे जीवमानेउद्य रविरस्तमियाद् यदि,“भारत! हम विजयी हों या मारे जाय, सभी दशाओंमें उत्तम गति प्राप्त कर सकते हैं। यदि इस राक्षसके जीते-जी सूर्य डूब गये, तो मैं फिर कभी अपनेको क्षत्रिय नहीं कहूँगा। अरे ओ निशाचर! खड़ा रह, मैं पाण्डुकुमार सहदेव हूँ, या तो तू मुझे मारकर द्रौपदीको ले जा या स्वयं मेरे हाथों मारा जाकर आज यहीं सदाके लिये सो जा।' माद्रीनन्दन सहदेव जब ऐसी बात कह रहे थे, उसी समय अकस्मात् गदा हाथमें लिये भीमसेन दिखायी दिये, मानो वज्रधारी इन्द्र आ पहुँचे हों। उन्होंने वहाँ (राक्षसके अधिकारमें पड़े हुए) अपने दोनों भाइयों तथा यशस्विनी द्रौपदीको देखा
jayanto hanyamānā vā prāptum arhāma sadgatim | rākṣase jīvamāne ’dya ravir astam iyād yadi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Whether we win or are slain, in either case we are worthy to attain the highest good. But if, while this rākṣasa still lives, the sun should set today, then I shall never again call myself a kṣatriya. Stand and face me, O night-roamer! I am Sahadeva, son of Pāṇḍu. Either kill me and take Draupadī away, or be struck down by my hands and lie here forever.” As Mādrī’s son Sahadeva spoke thus, Bhīmasena suddenly appeared, mace in hand, like Indra bearing the thunderbolt. He beheld there his two brothers and the illustrious Draupadī fallen under the rākṣasa’s power.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A kṣatriya’s dharma is framed as steadfast protection and accountability: Sahadeva declares that honor lies not merely in victory but in acting rightly, even at the cost of life, and he binds himself to urgency by refusing to let the day end while injustice persists.
Sahadeva confronts a rākṣasa who has seized Draupadī and holds his brothers under control, issuing a challenge before sunset; at that critical moment Bhīma appears with a mace, likened to Indra, and sees his brothers and Draupadī in the rākṣasa’s power.