Shloka 20
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 25: Kaurava Deliberation and the Search Directive (अन्वेषण-आदेशः)
येन त्रिगर्ता निहता बलेन महता नृप । सूतेन राज्ञों मत्स्यस्य कीचकेन बलीयसा
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yena trigartā nihatā balena mahatā nṛpa |
sūtena rājño matsyasya kīcakena balīyasā ||
… gandharvair asau duṣṭātmā sahodara-bhrātṛbhiḥ saha rātrau gupta-rūpeṇa nihataḥ |
sa idānīṃ śmaśāna-bhūmau patitaḥ supta iva tiṣṭhati ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O hari, minsan nang dinurog ang mga Trigarta ng napakalakas na puwersa ni Kīcaka—ang makapangyarihang anak ng tagapagpaandar ng karwaheng pandigma na naglilingkod kay Haring Virāṭa ng Matsya. Ang gayong taong may masamang kaluluwa ay napatay na ngayon sa gabi, nang palihim, kasama ang sarili niyang mga kapatid, ng mga Gandharva. Ngayon ay nakahandusay siya sa pook ng pagsusunog ng bangkay, na wari’y natutulog.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power gained through wrongdoing and arrogance is unstable; the ‘duṣṭātmā’ meets a sudden, shame-marked end (lying in the cremation-ground). The verse frames moral consequence and social disgrace as inseparable from violent misconduct.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Kīcaka—previously famed for crushing the Trigartas with a great force—has now been killed at night, secretly, along with his brothers, by ‘Gandharvas’ (a cover-story for unknown assailants). His body lies in the cremation-ground.