Shloka 296
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः
Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana
अन्तमद्य गमिष्यामि यदि नोत्सूजसे रणम् | तदनन्तर क्रूर घटोत्कच क्रोधसे लाल आँखें करके दुर्योधनसे बोला--'ओ दुष्ट! आज मैं अपने उन पितरों और माताके ऋणसे उऋण हो जाऊँगा
antam adya gamiṣyāmi yadi notsṛjase raṇam |
Sañjaya said: “Today I shall bring you to your end, if you do not abandon the battle.” Thereafter, the fierce Ghaṭotkaca—his eyes reddened with wrath—addressed Duryodhana: “Wretch! Today I will repay the debt I owe to my ancestors and to my mother, whom you forced to endure long years of exile. You are cruel and perverse in judgment. You deceitfully defeated the Pāṇḍavas in the dice-game; you dragged Kṛṣṇā, the daughter of Drupada, clad in a single garment and in her season, into the royal assembly and subjected her to manifold humiliations; and the wicked king of Sindhu, eager to please you, insulted my forebears by abducting Draupadī from her hermitage. O disgrace to your line—if you do not flee the field, today I shall exact vengeance for these outrages and for all your other oppressions as well.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames war as the moral consequence of sustained adharma: deceit in the dice-game, public humiliation of a woman, and abuse of power generate a demand for accountability. It also highlights the idea of ṛṇa (obligation)—a warrior’s duty to repay moral debts to family and lineage by defending honor and rectifying grave wrongs.
Sañjaya reports a moment on the battlefield where Ghaṭotkaca, enraged, threatens Duryodhana with death unless he abandons the fight. He justifies his vow by recalling key Kaurava offenses: the rigged dice defeat of the Pāṇḍavas, Draupadī’s humiliation in the assembly, and Jayadratha’s abduction attempt—presenting the coming violence as retribution for these acts.