Shloka 27
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
ब्राह्मणा: कुरुमुख्यस्य ये मुक्ता हपसारिण: । कुर्वन्ति शान्तिं कामस्य रणे यो5यं मया हत:,'कुरुश्रेष्ठ युधिष्ठिरके घोड़ेके पीछे-पीछे चलनेवाले जो ब्राह्मणलोग शान्तिकर्म करनेके लिये नियुक्त हुए हैं, वे इनके लिये कौन-सी शान्ति करते थे, जो ये रणभूमिमें मेरेद्वारा मार डाले गये!
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
brāhmaṇāḥ kurumukhyasya ye muktāḥ apasāriṇaḥ |
kurvanti śāntiṃ kāmasya raṇe yo ’yaṃ mayā hataḥ ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ കുരുശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! കുരുമുഖ്യന്റെ അശ്വത്തെ അനുഗമിക്കാൻ നിയുക്തരായി ശാന്തികർമ്മങ്ങളിൽ ഏർപ്പെട്ടിരുന്ന ബ്രാഹ്മണർ, യുദ്ധഭൂമിയിൽ എന്റെ കൈയ്യാൽ ഹതനായ ഈവനുവേണ്ടി ഏതു ‘ശാന്തി’യാണ് ചെയ്തിരുന്നത്?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between ritual protection (śānti-karman) and the inexorability of fate/karma in wartime: even when priests perform pacificatory rites for auspicious outcomes, violence and death may still occur, prompting reflection on the limits of ritual versus ethical action and destiny.
In the Aśvamedhika context, priests are described as accompanying the royal enterprise and performing śānti rites. The speaker points out that a person has nevertheless been slain in battle by him, questioning what pacificatory rite was being done for that person if it did not avert the fatal outcome.