Shloka 21
भीमकर्णसमागमः | Bhīma–Karṇa Encounter
अपि तस्य हानहाया: परिक्लेशस्य माधव । कृष्णाया: शवनुयां गन्तुं पद केशप्रधर्षणे,“माधव! जो क्लेश भोगनेके योग्य नहीं है, उस द्रौपदीका केश पकड़कर जो उसे अपमानित किया गया है, उसका बदला इस दुर्योधनको मारकर ही चुका सकता हूँ
api tasya anāhāyāḥ parikleśasya mādhava | kṛṣṇāyāḥ śvanuyāṃ gantuṃ pada keśa-pradharṣaṇe ||
Sañjaya said: “O Mādhava, for Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)—who did not deserve such suffering—after her hair was seized and she was thus outraged and humiliated, I can repay that insult only by slaying Duryodhana.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral logic of accountability: a grave public humiliation of an innocent person—symbolized by the seizing of Draupadī’s hair—demands a proportionate response within the warrior-ethic of the epic, where restoring violated honor is treated as a matter of justice and dharma.
Sañjaya reports a vow-like resolve addressed to Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava): the outrage done to Draupadī by dragging/insulting her through her hair is to be avenged, and the speaker declares that only Duryodhana’s death can repay that dishonor.