Shloka 80

Kirmīra-rākṣasa-saṃgamaḥ (Encounter and Slaying of Kirmīra) | किर्मीरेण सह भीमसेनसमागमः

Devanagari script

भोजने भीमसेनस्य पाप: प्राक्षेपयद्‌ विषम्‌ । कालकूटं नवं तीक्ष्णं सम्भूतं लोमहर्षणम्‌,जिस पापीने भीमसेनके भोजनमें नूतन, तीक्ष्ण, परिमाणमें अधिक एवं रोमांचकारी कालकूट नामक विष डलवा दिया था

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | bhojane bhīmasenasya pāpaḥ prākṣepayad viṣam | kālakūṭaṃ navaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ sambhūtaṃ lomaharṣaṇam |

Translation

வைசம்பாயனர் கூறினார்—ஒரு பாவி பீமசேனனின் உணவில் விஷத்தை கலக்கச் செய்தான்; புதிதாய் தயாரிக்கப்பட்ட, மிகத் தீவிரமான, ரோமம் சிலிர்க்கச் செய்யும் ‘காலகூட’ எனும் கொடிய விஷம்.

Word by Word

भोजनेin the food/meal

भीमसेनस्यof Bhimasena

पापःthe sinner/wicked man

प्राक्षेपयत्caused to be thrown/put in; mixed in

विषम्poison

कालकूटम्Kālakūṭa (a deadly poison)

नवम्new/fresh

तीक्ष्णम्sharp, intense, potent

सम्भूतम्arisen/produced

लोमहर्षणम्hair-raising, horripilating

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Kālakūṭa (poison)

poison (viṣa)

food/meal (bhojana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns covert harm and betrayal: administering poison through deception is presented as a deeply sinful, adharmic act, highlighting that unethical means—especially treachery against the unsuspecting—carry grave moral weight.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that a wicked person arranged for Bhīmasena’s food to be laced with a terrifying, highly potent poison called Kālakūṭa, indicating an attempted murder by stealth rather than open confrontation.