Shloka 2
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
को हि मां भीमसेनाद्य क्षितावहति पार्थिव: | क्षेप्तुं कालपरीतात्मा यथैष कुलपांसन:
ko hi māṁ bhīmasenādya kṣitāvahati pārthivaḥ | kṣeptuṁ kālaparītātmā yathaiṣa kulapāṁsanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bhīmasena, wer unter den Königen dieser Erde wagte es heute, mir einen Vorwurf an den Kopf zu werfen? Nur wessen Geist von der Zeit (dem Schicksal) ergriffen ist, schleudert eine solche Beleidigung — wie Śiśupāla, der Schandfleck seines Geschlechts.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint in speech and the gravity of reviling elders or the virtuous; it also frames reckless insult as a symptom of being overpowered by Kāla (fate), implying moral blindness that precedes downfall.
In the royal assembly context, Śiśupāla is hurling accusations/insults. Bhīṣma addresses Bhīma, expressing that no rightful king would dare insult him unless driven by fate—thereby condemning Śiśupāla as a ‘disgrace to his lineage.’