Shloka 19
Duryodhana Seized by Citraseṇa; Kaurava Petition to Yudhiṣṭhira (दुर्योधनापहारः / चित्रसेनगन्धर्वग्रहणम्)
मातर ऊचु: इच्छाम तासां मातृणां प्रजा भोक्तुं प्रयच्छ नः । त्वया सह पृथग्भूता ये च तासामथेश्वरा:,माताओंने कहा--यदि ऐसी बात है, तो हमें इन लोकमाताओंकी संतानें सौंप दो। हम उन्हें खाना चाहती हैं। तुमसे पृथक् जो उन संतानोंके पिता आदि अभिभावक हैं, उन्हें भी हम खाना चाहती हैं
mātara ūcuḥ: icchāma tāsāṁ mātṝṇāṁ prajā bhoktuṁ prayaccha naḥ | tvayā saha pṛthagbhūtā ye ca tāsām atheśvarāḥ ||
母たちは言った。「それならば、あの母神たちの子らを我らに与えよ。我らはそれを喰らいたい。さらに、汝と別にあって彼らの主となる者――その子らの父であり守護者である者どもも、我らは同じく呑み尽くしたい。」
स्कन्द उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical tension: powerful beings may demand what is not rightfully theirs, even targeting the vulnerable (children) and their protectors. It frames the need for restraint and righteous guardianship (dharma) when confronted by predatory claims, even from divine or semi-divine forces.
A group of Mother-deities addresses Skanda, asking him to hand over the children of certain mother-goddesses so they can devour them, and also to give up the children’s separate fathers/guardians (‘lords’) so they too may be consumed. The request signals a threatening, destructive intent that Skanda must respond to within the story’s moral framework.