Mahabharata 9.40.19 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 40, Shloka 19
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
तस्य ते सैनिका राजंश्चक्रुस्तत्रानयात् बहून् । ततस्तु भगवान् विप्रो वसिष्ठो55श्रममभ्ययात्
tasya te sainikā rājan cakrus tatrānayāt bahūn | tatas tu bhagavān vipro vasiṣṭho ’śramam abhyayāt ||
اے راجا! اُس کے سپاہیوں نے وہاں بہت سے ظلم و ناانصافی کے کام کیے۔ پھر قابلِ تعظیم برہمرشی وشِشٹھ کہیں سے اپنے آشرم میں آ پہنچے۔
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when armed power acts without restraint—‘anaya’ (injustice) leading to oppression—and contrasts it with the arrival of a revered sage, implying that dharma and moral authority ultimately confront wrongdoing.
The narrator states that certain soldiers committed many injustices at a location. Immediately afterward, the sage Vasiṣṭha arrives at his hermitage, signaling a turning point where the consequences of those misdeeds may be addressed.
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