Shloka 62
Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)
एकं हि मे सायकं चित्ररूप॑ दिग्ध॑ विषेणाहर संगृहीतम् । येन विद्धो वामदेव: शयीत संदश्यमान: श्वभिरार्तरूप:,'सूत! एक अद्भुत बाण ले आओ, जो विषमें बुझाकर रखा गया हो, जिससे घायल होकर यह वामदेव धरतीपर लोट जाय। इसे कुत्ते नोच-नोचकर खायेँ और यह पृथ्वीपर पड़ा-पड़ा पीड़ासे छटपटाता रहे”
ekaṃ hi me sāyakaṃ citrarūpaṃ digdhaṃ viṣeṇāhara saṃgṛhītam | yena viddho vāmadevaḥ śayīta saṃdaśyamānaḥ śvabhir ārtarūpaḥ |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Bring me that single, wondrous arrow of many forms, kept ready after being smeared with poison. Struck by it, let Vāmadeva fall and lie on the ground—torn by dogs, writhing in agony as he is bitten again and again.” The verse conveys a deliberate, cruel intent: the weapon is not sought merely to defeat an opponent but to prolong suffering and humiliation, highlighting an adharma-driven impulse within the narrative.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical degradation that occurs when violence is pursued not for protection or justice but for sadistic humiliation—seeking prolonged suffering through poison and exposure. In Mahābhārata’s moral universe, such intent is a marker of adharma and a warning about how vengeance can eclipse restraint.
Mārkaṇḍeya voices an order to fetch a special arrow, already smeared with poison and kept ready, with the explicit aim of striking Vāmadeva so that he collapses and is then mauled by dogs while suffering on the ground.