Shloka 42
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
अहं हि सुभ्रु राज्यस्य कृत्स्नस्थास्य सुमध्यमे । प्रभुर्वासयिता चैव वीर्ये चाप्रतिम: क्षितौ
ahaṃ hi subhru rājyasya kṛtsnasthāsya sumadhyame | prabhur vāsayitā caiva vīrye cāpratimaḥ kṣitau ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O may magandang kilay, O may payat na baywang, ako ang panginoon ng buong kahariang ito at ako rin ang nagtatag at nagpaunlad dito. Sa lakas at kagitingan sa ibabaw ng lupa, wala akong kapantay.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the rhetoric of royal self-assertion—claiming sole sovereignty and unmatched valor. Ethically, it illustrates how pride and the language of domination can be used to overawe others, a recurring Mahābhārata motif that invites scrutiny of power divorced from humility and dharma.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a male speaker addresses a woman with honorific epithets (“subhru”, “sumadhyamā”) and proclaims himself the master of the entire kingdom, its establisher, and unrivaled in strength on earth—an emphatic boast meant to assert authority and intimidate or persuade.