Mahabharata · Chapter 1.174
kutomūlamidaṃ duḥkhaṃ jñātumicchāmi tattvataḥ /
viditvāpyapakarṣeyaṃ śakyaṃ cedapakarṣitum //
brāhmaṇa uvāca /
upapannaṃ satāmetadyadbravīpi tapodhane /
na tu duḥkhamidaṃ śakyaṃ mānuṣeṇa vyapohitum //
tathāpi tattvamākhyāsye duḥkhasyaitasya sambhavam /
śakyaṃ vā yadi vā'śakyaṃ śṛṇu bhadre yathātatham //
samīpe nagarasyāsya vako vasati rākṣasaḥ /
ito gavyūtimātre.ñasti yamunāgahvare guhā //
tasyāṃ ghoraḥ sa vasati jighāṃsuḥ puruṣādakaḥ /
bakābhidhāno duṣṭātmā rākṣasānāṃ kulādhamaḥ //
īśo janapadasyāsya purasya ca mahābalaḥ /
puṣṭo mānuṣamāṃsena durbuddhiḥ puruṣādakaḥ //
prabalaḥ kāmarūpī ca rākṣasastu mahābalaḥ /
tenopasṛṣṭā nagarī varṣamadya trayodaśam //
tatkṛte paracakrācca bhūtebhyaśca na no bhayam /
puruṣādena raudreṇa bhakṣyamāṇā durātmanā //
anāthā nagarī nāthaṃ trātāraṃ nādhigacchati /
guhāyāṃ ca vasaṃstatra bādhate satataṃ janam //
striyo bālāṃśca vṛddhāṃśca yūnaścāpi durātmavān /
atra mantraiśca homaiśca bhojanaiśca sa rākṣasaḥ //
īḍito dvijamukhyaiśca pūjitaśca durātmavān /
yadā ca sakalānevaṃ prasūdayati rākṣasaḥ //
athainaṃ brāhmaṇāḥ sarve samaye samayojayan /
mā sma kāmādvadhī rakṣo dāsyāmaste sadā vayaṃ //
paryāyeṇa yathākāmamiha māṃsodanaṃ prabho /
annaṃ māṃsasamāyuktaṃ tilacūrṇasamanvitam //
sarpiṣā ca samāyuktaṃ vyañjanaiśca samanvitam /
sūpāṃstrīnsatilānpiṇḍām̐llājāpūpasurāsavān //
śṛtāśṛtānpānakumbhānsthūlamāṃsaṃ śṛtāśṛtam /
vanamāhiṣavārāhabhāllūkaṃ ca śṛtāśṛtam //
sarpiḥkumbhāṃśca vividhāndadhikumbhāṃstathā bahūn /
sadyaḥsiddhasamāyuktaṃ tilacūrṇaiḥ samākulam //
kulācca puruṣaṃ caikaṃ balīvardau ca kālakau /
prāpsyasi tvamasankruddho rakṣobhāgaṃ prakalpitam //
tiṣṭheha samaye'smākamityayācanta taṃ dvijāḥ /
bāḍhamityeva tadrakṣastadvacaḥ pratyagṛhṇata //
paracakrāṭavīkebhyo rakṣaṇaṃ sa karoti ca /
tasminbhāge sunirdiṣṭe sthitaḥ sa samaye balī //
ekaikaṃ caiva puruṣaṃ samprayacchanti vetanam /
sa vāro bahubhirvarṣairbhavatyasukaro naraiḥ //
tadvimokṣāya ye kecidyatante puruṣāḥ kvacit / saputradārāṃstānhatvā tadrakṣo bhakṣayatyuta //
vetrakīyagṛhe rājā nāyaṃ nayamihāsthitaḥ / upāyaṃ taṃ na kurute yatnādapi sa mandadhīḥ /
anāmayaṃ janasyāsya yena syādadya śāśvatam //
etadarhā vacaṃ nūnaṃ vasāmo durbalasya ye /
viṣaye nityavāstavyāḥ kurājānamupāśritāḥ //
brāhmaṇāḥ kasya vaktavyāḥ kasya vācchandacāriṇaḥ /
guṇairete hi vatsyanti kāmagāḥ pakṣiṇo yathā //
rājānaṃ prathamaṃ vindettato bhāryāṃ tato dhanam / rājanyasati loke'sminkuto bhāryā kuto dhanam /
vayasya sañcayenāsya jñātīnputrāṃśca tārayet //
vipīrataṃ mayā cedaṃ trayaṃ sarvamupārjitam /
tadimāmāpadaṃ prāpya bhṛśaṃ tapyāmahe vayam //
so'yamasmānanuprāpto vāraḥ kulavināśanaḥ /
bhojanaṃ puruṣaścaikaḥ pradeyaṃ vetanaṃ mayā //
na ca me vidyate vittaṃ sankretuṃ puruṣaṃ kvacit /
suhṛjjanaṃ pradātuṃ ca na śakṣyāmi kadācana //
gatiṃ cānyāṃ na paśyāmi tasmānmokṣāya rakṣasaḥ /
so'haṃ duḥkhārṇave magno mahatyasukare bhṛśam //
sahaivaitairgamiṣyāmi bāndhavairadya rākṣasam /
tato naḥ sahitānkṣudraḥ sarvānevopabhokṣyati //
duḥkhamūlamidaṃ bhadre mayoktaṃ praśnato'naghe //
Original text: Mahābhārata (southern recension) · Edition: Śrīman Mahābhāratam, ed. T. R. Krishnacharya and T. R. Vyasacharya, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay 1906–1910; e-text by SARIT (Shrinivasa Varakhedi and others) · SARIT: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts · SARIT (e-text) via Internet Archive · CC BY-SA 3.0