Shloka 37
Arjuna’s Account of Tapas and the Kirāta Test; Revelation of Maheśvara and the Grant of the Pāśupata-Astra
तेषां हि शापकाल: स कृतो5गस्त्येन धीमता । समरे निहतास्तस्माच्छापस्यान्तो5भवत् तदा,बुद्धिमान् अगस्त्यने यक्षोंके लिये शापकी वही अवधि निश्चित की थी। जब वे युद्धमें मारे गये तब उनके शापका अन्त हो गया। महामना पाण्डव अपने उन आश्रमोंमें सम्पूर्ण राक्षसोंसे पूजित एवं उद्वेगशून्य होकर सुखसे रात्रि व्यतीत करने लगे
teṣāṃ hi śāpakālaḥ sa kṛto 'gastyena dhīmatā | samare nihatās tasmāc chāpasya 'nto 'bhavat tadā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “For them, the term of the curse had been fixed by the wise Agastya. Therefore, when they were slain in battle, the curse came to its end at that very time.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral logic of karmic consequence and limitation: even a powerful curse has a defined term set by a sage, and it ends when its condition is fulfilled—here, the destined death in battle.
Vaiśampāyana explains that Agastya had predetermined the duration of a curse affecting certain beings; when they were killed in combat, the curse’s period concluded immediately.