Shloka 37
तच्च मे कृन्तते मर्म यन्न तस्य शिरो मया । निषादविषये क्षिप्तं जयद्रथशिरो यथा
tac ca me kṛntate marma yan na tasya śiro mayā | niṣādaviṣaye kṣiptaṃ jayadrathaśiro yathā ||
Dieser Gedanke schneidet mir ins Herz: dass ich seinen Kopf nicht in das Land der Niṣādas schleuderte, wie einst Jayadrathas Kopf fortgeworfen wurde.
धष्टहुम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological weight of action in war: a warrior judges himself not only by victory but by whether he fulfilled a decisive, symbolically charged act. It portrays how regret arises when one falls short of an earlier standard of resolve and retributive justice.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna laments that he did not cast an enemy’s severed head into the Niṣādas’ region, comparing his missed act to the famed incident involving Jayadratha’s head being thrown—an allusion used to express frustration, self-blame, and the desire for a public, deterrent humiliation of the foe.