Shloka 31

Devanagari script

निहत्य दुःशासनमुक्तवान्‌ वच: प्रसह शार्टूलवदेष दुर्मति: । वृकोदरस्तद्धृदये मम स्थितं न तत्‌ परोक्षं भवतः कुत: शम:,“इस दुर्बुद्धि भीमसेनने सिंहके समान हठपूर्वक दुःशासनका वध करके जो बात कही थी, वह तुमसे छिपी नहीं है। वह इस समय भी मेरे हृदयमें स्थित होकर पीड़ा दे रही है। ऐसी दशामें कैसे संधि हो सकती है?

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

nihatya duḥśāsanam uktavān vacaḥ prasaha śārṭūlavad eṣa durmatiḥ |

vṛkodaras tad hṛdaye mama sthitaṃ na tat parokṣaṃ bhavataḥ kutaḥ śamaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Nachdem Duḥśāsana erschlagen war, stieß der übelgesinnte Bhīma — wie ein Tiger, der mit bloßer Gewalt handelt — gewisse Worte aus. Das ist dir nicht verborgen. Noch jetzt sitzt es mir im Herzen und quält mich. Wie könnte es in solcher Lage Frieden oder Versöhnung geben?“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'nihatya', 'definition': 'having slain

• after killing (absolutive of √han)'}, {'term': 'duḥśāsanam', 'definition': 'Duḥśāsana (name of a Kaurava prince)'}, {'term': 'uktavān', 'definition': 'said, spoke (perfect participle of √vac)'}, {'term': 'vacaḥ', 'definition': 'speech, words, utterance'}, {'term': 'prasaha', 'definition': 'forcibly, violently, with coercion'}, {'term': 'śārṭūlavat', 'definition': 'like a tiger (comparative in -vat)'}, {'term': 'eṣa', 'definition': 'this (person here)'}, {'term': 'durmatiḥ', 'definition': 'evil-minded, of perverse counsel'}, {'term': 'vṛkodaraḥ', 'definition': 'Vṛkodara, ‘wolf-bellied’—epithet of Bhīma'}, {'term': 'hṛdaye', 'definition': 'in (my) heart'}, {'term': 'mama', 'definition': 'of me, my'}, {'term': 'sthitam', 'definition': 'standing, remaining, lodged'}, {'term': 'parokṣam', 'definition': 'hidden, out of sight

• unknown'}, {'term': 'bhavataḥ', 'definition': 'to you (honorific gen./dat. depending on construal)'}, {'term': 'kutaḥ', 'definition': 'whence? how? on what grounds?'}, {'term': 'śamaḥ', 'definition': 'calm, pacification, peace

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duḥśāsana
• Vṛkodara (Bhīmasena)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how certain acts and words—especially those driven by violent vengeance—create moral and psychological aftereffects that obstruct peace. Even when an enemy is slain, the memory of the deed and the harsh vow-like utterance can keep hostility alive, making reconciliation (śama) impossible.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya recalls to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma (Vṛkodara) killed Duḥśāsana and then spoke fierce words. Sañjaya says those words still torment him inwardly, and since Dhṛtarāṣṭra already knows them, there is no question of concealment—nor, given this bitterness, any realistic possibility of peace.