Shloka 22
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
एवं शप्त्वा तु राजानं सा तमाज्िरसी शुभा | तस्यैव संनिधौ दीप्तं प्रविवेश हुताशनम्,इस प्रकार राजाको शाप देकर वह सती साध्वी आंगिरसी राजा कल्माषपादके समीप ही प्रज्वलित अग्निमें प्रवेश कर गयी
evaṁ śaptvā tu rājānaṁ sā tam āṅgirasī śubhā | tasyaiva saṁnidhau dīptaṁ praviveśa hutāśanam ||
Having thus pronounced a curse upon the king, that auspicious woman of the Āṅgirasa line, right in his very presence, entered the blazing fire. The episode underscores the grave moral weight of a ruler’s wrongdoing and the uncompromising resolve of a chaste, principled woman to uphold truth and dignity—even at the cost of her own life.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that adharma—especially by a king—invites severe moral and karmic consequences, and that a virtuous person may choose uncompromising adherence to truth and dignity, even through self-sacrifice.
After cursing the king, the noble Āṅgirasa woman, in his immediate presence, enters a blazing fire—an act that functions both as a dramatic culmination of the wrong done to her and as a public, irreversible assertion of her moral stance.