Shloka 173
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
तस्मादस्यावलेपस्य सद्यः फलमवाप्रुहि । 'परंतु उन पाण्डुनन्दन भीमने तुझसे कोई कटु वचन नहीं कहा। तूने जो भीमको बहुत- सी रूखी बातें सुनायी हैं और मेरे परोक्षमें तुमलोगोंने जो मेरे पुत्र सुभद्राकुमार अभिमन्युको अन्यायपूर्वक मार डाला है, अपने उस घमंडका तत्काल ही उचित फल तू प्राप्त कर ले
tasmād asyāvalepasya sadyaḥ phalam avāpruhi |
Sañjaya said: “Therefore, receive at once the due fruit of this arrogance of yours.” In the surrounding context, the thrust is ethical and retributive: despite Bhīma not having spoken harshly to him, the addressee had insulted Bhīma and had also taken part—unjustly and from behind the scenes—in the killing of Abhimanyu; hence the demand that the consequences of such pride and adharma be met immediately.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogance (avalepa) and unjust conduct in war invite immediate moral consequence; the verse frames ‘phala’ as the rightful result of pride and adharma, reinforcing the Mahābhārata’s ethic that actions—especially cruel or unfair ones—ripen into fitting outcomes.
Sañjaya reports a forceful challenge/denunciation: the addressee is told to accept the immediate ‘fruit’ of his arrogance. The wider passage recalls that Bhīma did not speak harshly, yet was insulted, and that Abhimanyu was slain unfairly; the statement functions as a demand for retribution and a turning of the moral tide in the battle narrative.