Shloka 21
Gadā-yuddhe Bhīma–Duryodhanayoḥ Tumulaḥ Saṃprahāraḥ
Mace-duel’s intense exchange
प्रमाणकोट्यां पातस्य दाहस्य जतुवेश्मनि । सभायामवहासस्य सर्वस्वहरणस्यथ च
sañjaya uvāca |
pramāṇakoṭyāṃ pātasya dāhasya jatuveśmani |
sabhāyām avahāsasya sarvasvaharaṇasya ca ||
সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে— “প্ৰমাণকোটীৰ পানীত পেলাই দিয়া অপমান, জতুৱেশ্মত (লাক্ষাগৃহত) দাহ কৰিবলৈ কৰা চেষ্টা, সভাত ৰাজহুৱা উপহাস, আৰু সৰ্বস্ব হৰণ—এই সকলো (স্মৰি সি ক’লে)।”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse gathers a catalogue of grave violations—attempted murder, arson, public dishonor, and dispossession—showing how adharma accumulates consequences. Ethically, it highlights the tension between justified accountability and the consuming pull of vengeance, a recurring Mahābhārata concern.
Sanjaya reports a character’s recollection of past atrocities: being thrown into the Pramāṇakoṭī waters, the attempt to burn him in the lac-house, ridicule in the royal assembly, and the taking of his entire wealth. These memories are invoked to justify a resolve to bring those sufferings to an end through confrontation in the war context.