Shloka 40
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
पशुवद् घातनं वा मे दहनं वा कटाग्निना | क्रियतां मूर्थ्नि वो न्यस्तं मयेदं सकल॑ पदम्
paśuvad ghātanaṃ vā me dahanaṃ vā kaṭāgninā | kriyatāṃ mūrdhni vo nyastaṃ mayedaṃ sakalaṃ padam |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Wenn ihr Kühnheit oder Kraft besitzt, dann tötet mich wie ein Tier oder verbrennt mich im Feuer dürren Grases. Denn ich habe meinen ganzen Fuß auf eure Häupter gesetzt.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse dramatizes the ethical tension between brute force and moral restraint: an insult is framed as so extreme that it invites violent retaliation, yet the narrative context of the Sabha Parva repeatedly tests whether power will be used as mere domination or governed by dharma and self-control.
A speaker, in a taunting and provocative tone, challenges others to kill or burn him if they have the courage, declaring that he has symbolically placed his entire foot upon their heads—an image of total humiliation and asserted superiority meant to inflame anger and provoke a response.