Shloka 2
कबन्धवधः
The Severing of Kabandha’s Arms and the Opening of Dialogue
तिष्ठतः किं नु मां दृष्ट्वा क्षुधार्तं क्षत्रियर्षभौ।आहारार्थं तु सन्दिष्टौ दैवेन गतचेतसौ।।।।
tiṣṭhataḥ kiṃ nu māṃ dṛṣṭvā kṣudhārtaṃ kṣatriyarṣabhau | āhārārthaṃ tu sandiṣṭau daivena gatacetasau ||
ഹേ ക്ഷത്രിയശ്രേഷ്ഠരേ! വിശപ്പാൽ പീഡിതനായ എന്നെ കണ്ടിട്ടും നിങ്ങൾ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് ബോധം നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടവരെപ്പോലെ നിശ്ചലമായി നിൽക്കുന്നു? ദൈവം തന്നെയാണ് നിങ്ങളെ എന്റെ ആഹാരത്തിനായി ഇവിടെ നിയോഗിച്ചത്.
O tigers among men you are welcome. It is my good luck that I am able to see you. It is my good luck also that the arms that bound you have been amputated.
FAQs
The verse frames a moral tension: brute appetite and fatalism versus human agency. Dharma is tested when violence is justified as “destiny”; the narrative invites the listener to reject fatalistic excuses for adharmic harm.
Kabandha confronts Rama and Lakshmana in the forest, declaring he is hungry and claiming fate has delivered them to be eaten.
Rama and Lakshmana’s steadiness under threat—remaining composed and ready to act rather than freezing in fear.