Shloka 11
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
यदृच्छया रणे भीम॑ युध्यमानं महाबलम् | कथंचिद् विरथं कृत्वा यत् त्वं रूक्षमभाषथा:
yadṛcchayā raṇe bhīmaṁ yudhyamānaṁ mahābalam | kathaṁcid virathaṁ kṛtvā yat tvaṁ rūkṣam abhāṣathāḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Als du, durch eine zufällige Wendung im Kampf, irgendwie den übermächtigen Bhīma—der erbittert focht—wagenlos machtest, da redetest du rau. Solche groben Worte mitten im Krieg verraten den Druck von Stolz und Zorn und künden davon, wie das Wort selbst zur Waffe werden kann, die die Feindschaft tiefer gräbt als der unmittelbare Zusammenstoß der Waffen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, speech carries moral weight: harsh, contemptuous words (rūkṣa-vākya) can intensify hatred and cloud judgment, turning a tactical moment into an ethical lapse that fuels further violence.
Sañjaya reports that the listener (addressed as 'you') managed, by a turn of circumstances, to render the mighty Bhīma chariotless during the battle, and then spoke to him in a harsh manner—highlighting both the battlefield event and the abrasive exchange that followed.