Shloka 233

Prajñā as Pratiṣṭhā — Indra–Kāśyapa Saṃvāda (Śānti-parva 12.173)

Devanagari script

कृत्वा तं खण्डश: पापं दस्युभ्य: प्रददुस्तदा । राजाकी ऐसी आज्ञा पाकर हाथमें शूल और पट्टिश धारण किये राक्षसोंने पापी गौतमके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करके उसे दस्युओंको सौंप दिया

Transliteration

kṛtvā taṃ khaṇḍaśaḥ pāpaṃ dasyubhyaḥ pradaduḥ tadā | rājñā kṛtām ājñāṃ prāpya hastayoḥ śūlaṃ ca paṭṭiśaṃ ca dhārayitvā rākṣasāḥ pāpiṇaṃ gautamaṃ khaṇḍaśaḥ kṛtvā taṃ dasyubhyaḥ samarpayām āsuḥ |

Translation

ภีษมะกล่าวว่า ครั้นแล้วพวกเขาหั่นคนบาปนั้นเป็นชิ้น ๆ แล้วส่งมอบให้พวกโจร เมื่อได้รับพระบัญชาของราชา รากษสทั้งหลายถือหอกและขวานศึกไว้ในมือ ฉีกสับโคตมะผู้บาปหนาให้แหลก แล้วมอบให้พวกดาโกย

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having done / having made
• कृत्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• तम्: him/that (person)
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• खण्डशः: into pieces; piece by piece
• खण्डशः: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: खण्डशस् (अव्यय)

• पापम्: the sinful one / the sinner
• पापम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• दस्युभ्यः: to the robbers/bandits
• दस्युभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दस्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• प्रददुः: they gave/handed over
• प्रददुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Rājā (the king)
• Rākṣasāḥ (rākṣasas)
• Gautama
• Dasyu (bandits/dacoits)
• Śūla (spear)
• Paṭṭiśa (battle-axe)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the exercise of royal authority in administering punishment and the moral tension it can create: even when an act is sanctioned by the king as justice, the means—extreme violence and outsourcing to fearsome agents—invites reflection on proportionality, compassion, and the ethical limits of coercive power within rājadharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Under the king’s order, rākṣasas armed with a spear and a battle-axe seize the sinful Gautama, cut him into pieces, and then hand him over to bandits (dasyus). Bhīṣma narrates this as part of a broader discourse on governance and punitive action.