Shloka 10
Virāṭa’s Mobilization to Recover the Cattle (गोधनरक्षणार्थ विराटस्य सैन्यसमायोजनम्)
अथवा गोसहस्राणि शुभानि च बहूनि च । विविधानि हरिष्याम: प्रतिपीड्य पुरं बलात्
athavā go-sahasrāṇi śubhāni ca bahūni ca | vividhāni hariṣyāmaḥ pratipīḍya puraṃ balāt ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「あるいは、そこには見事な牛が幾千と大群をなしている。力ずくで都をかき乱し騒擾を起こして、そのさまざまな牛を奪い去ろう。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a morally problematic impulse: using force and civic terror to seize another’s wealth. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such coercive plunder tends toward adharma and becomes a seed for escalation and retribution.
A plan is being voiced to raid a city and abduct its large herds of cattle—explicitly by applying force and causing disturbance—indicating an impending act of aggression rather than negotiation or lawful claim.