Shloka 17
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
यस्मात् तु बहु रूक्ष॑ च श्रावितस्ते वृकोदर: । परोक्षं यच्च सौभद्रो युष्माभिन्निहतो मम
yasmāt tu bahu rūkṣaṃ ca śrāvitaste vṛkodaraḥ | parokṣaṃ yacca saubhadro yuṣmābhinnihato mama ||
Sañjaya said: “Because you have made Vṛkodara hear many harsh and bitter words, and because my Saubhadra was slain by you while he was out of your sight, the consequences of that cruelty are now unfolding.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of cruelty in speech and unfair violence in war: harsh provocation and killing an opponent by unjust means generate moral consequences and intensify cycles of vengeance.
Sañjaya points to two provocations attributed to the Kaurava side—repeated harsh words directed at Bhīma and the killing of Abhimanyu in a manner described as ‘parokṣa’ (not face-to-face/without direct confrontation)—as causes that fuel the ensuing retaliation and escalation in the battle.