Shloka 75

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

Devanagari script

नन्विमे धनुषि श्रेष्ठा अजेया युधि शात्रवै: । किमर्थ धार्तराष्ट्राणां सहन्ते दुर्बलीयसाम्‌,ये धर्नुर्विद्यामें श्रेष्ठ तथा शत्रुओंद्वारा युद्धमें अजेय हैं तो भी दुर्बल धृतराष्ट्र-पुत्रोंका अत्याचार कैसे सहन करते हैं?

Transliteration

nanu ime dhanuṣi śreṣṭhā ajeyā yudhi śātravaiḥ | kimarthaṃ dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ sahante durbalīyasām ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「まことにこの者たちは弓の扱いにおいて第一であり、戦場では敵に征服されぬ。しかるに、なぜ彼らは自分たちより弱いドリタラーシュトラの者どもの圧政を耐え忍ぶのか。」

Word by Word

ननुindeed; surely (interrogative emphasis)

इमेthese

धनुषिin archery; with the bow

श्रेष्ठाःexcellent; best

अजेयाःunconquerable

युधिin battle

शात्रवैःby enemies; by foes

किमर्थम्for what reason? why?

धार्तराष्ट्राणाम्of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

सहन्तेthey endure; they tolerate

दुर्बलीयसाम्of the weaker (ones)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (as the source of the patronymic “Dhārtarāṣṭra”)

Dhārtarāṣṭras (sons/party of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

bow (dhanuṣ)

enemies/foes (śatravaḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical tension central to the epic: those who possess strength and martial excellence may still choose restraint. It invites reflection on when endurance of wrongdoing is dharmic (forbearance, strategic patience, respect for elders and social order) and when it becomes complicity that must be answered by righteous action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana poses a rhetorical question about the mighty bowmen—implicitly the Pāṇḍavas—who are said to be unbeatable in war, yet continue to tolerate the harshness and domination of the Dhārtarāṣṭras, portrayed here as comparatively weaker.