Shloka 17
“समरभूमिमें पापाचारी धृष्टद्युम्नको मैं कोमल और कठोर जिस किसी भी कर्मके द्वारा अवश्य मार डालूँगा ।। पज्चालानां वध कृत्वा शान्तिं लब्धास्मि कौरव | यदर्थ पुरुषव्याघ्र पुत्रानिच्छन्ति मानवा:
sañjaya uvāca | samarabhūmau pāpācāriṇaṃ dhṛṣṭadyumnam ahaṃ komalaiḥ kaṭhoraiś ca yair yaiḥ karmabhir avaśyaṃ mārayiṣyāmi | pāñcālānāṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā śāntiṃ labdhāsmi kaurava | yadarthaṃ puruṣavyāghra putrān icchanti mānavāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “On the battlefield I will surely kill the sinful Dhṛṣṭadyumna—by whatever means, gentle or harsh, may be required. Having slain the Pāñcālas, O Kaurava, I shall attain the peace for which men, O tiger among men, long for sons.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how vengeance can be rationalized as a path to “peace,” even when it requires abandoning moral restraint—signaled by the willingness to use any means, gentle or harsh. It implicitly raises an ethical tension in war: the pursuit of personal appeasement versus adherence to righteous conduct (dharma).
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s fierce resolve on the battlefield: Dhṛṣṭadyumna is singled out as a target, and the speaker declares certainty of killing him by any method. The statement extends to the destruction of the Pāñcālas, framed as the act that will finally bring the speaker inner relief or satisfaction.