Shloka 6
Jatugṛha-dāhānantara-vṛttāntaḥ
Aftermath of the Lac House Fire
न त्वमर्हसि पार्थेन सूतपुत्र रणे वधम् । कुलस्य सदृशस्तूर्ण प्रतोदो गृह्मुतां त्वया,“अरे ओ सूतपुत्र! तू तो अर्जुनके हाथसे मरने-योग्य भी नहीं है। तुझे तो शीघ्र ही चाबुक हाथमें लेना चाहिये; क्योंकि यही तेरे कुलके अनुरूप है
na tvam arhasi pārthena sūtaputra raṇe vadham | kulasya sadṛśas tūrṇaṃ pratodo gṛhyatāṃ tvayā ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Sohn eines sūta (Wagenlenkers), du bist nicht würdig, im Kampf von Pārtha (Arjuna) erschlagen zu werden. Nimm schnell die Peitsche zur Hand—denn das ziemt sich für deine Herkunft.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how appeals to lineage and social role are used to deny martial honor, raising an ethical tension in the epic: true worth versus status-based exclusion. It shows how dharma in a warrior context can be distorted by contempt and social prejudice.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) dismisses the addressed ‘sūtaputra’ as unworthy of being killed by Arjuna in battle and mocks him by telling him to take up a charioteer’s whip—an insult meant to push him back into a socially assigned occupation rather than the warrior arena.