Mahabharata 4.22.79 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 22, Shloka 79
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
अद्याहमनृणो भूत्वा भ्रातुर्भार्यापहारिणम् । शान्तिं लब्धास्मि परमां हत्वा सैरन्ध्रिकण्टकम्
adyāham anṛṇo bhūtvā bhrātur bhāryāpahāriṇam | śāntiṁ labdhāsmi paramāṁ hatvā sairandhrikaṇṭakam ||
ഇന്ന് ഞാൻ—സൈരന്ധ്രിക്ക് മുള്ളായിരുന്നും എന്റെ സഹോദരന്റെ ഭാര്യയെ അപഹരിക്കാൻ ശ്രമിച്ചും നിന്ന ആ ദുഷ്ടൻ കീചകനെ വധിച്ച്—എന്റെ കർത്തവ്യഋണം തീർത്ത് പരമശാന്തി പ്രാപിക്കും।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous action as the discharge of a moral debt: protecting a woman from predatory violence and upholding familial duty. Peace (śānti) is presented not as passivity but as the inner resolution that follows the removal of a grievous wrongdoer who threatens dharma.
In the Virāṭa court during the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito exile, Kīcaka harasses Sairandhrī (Draupadī). The speaker’s sentiment anticipates/justifies Kīcaka’s killing as repayment of duty toward the brother whose wife was targeted, and as the removal of the ‘thorn’ afflicting Sairandhrī.
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