Shloka 8
तस्यापचितिमिच्छामि शत्रुशोणितपूजया । शत्रुमांसैश्न राजेन्द्र मामनुज्ञातुमहसि,अभियाति द्रुतं कर्ण तद् वारय महारथम् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन! युद्धस्थलमें इस प्रकार कर्णका वध करनेकी इच्छासे उद्यत हुए घटोत्कचको सूतपुत्रके रथकी ओर आते देख आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनने दःशासनसे इस प्रकार कहा--'भाई! यह राक्षस रणभूमिमें कर्णका वेगपूर्वक पराक्रम देखकर तीव्र गतिसे उसपर आक्रमण कर रहा है; अतः उस महारथी घटोत्कचको रोको राजेन्द्र! मैं शत्रुओंके रक्त और मांसद्वारा पिताकी पूजा करके उनके वधका बदला लेना चाहता हूँ। आप इसके लिये मुझे आज्ञा दें”
sañjaya uvāca | tasyāpacitim icchāmi śatruśoṇitapūjayā | śatrumāṃsaiś ca rājendra mām anu jñātum arhasi | abhiyāti drutaṃ karṇa taṃ vārayā mahāratham ||
Sanjaya said: “O king, I seek to render him due honor by an offering of the enemy’s blood. Grant me leave, O lord of kings, to make a rite of vengeance with the flesh of foes. Karna is being swiftly assailed—stop that great chariot-warrior!”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the language of dharma and ritual (“pūjā,” “apaciti”) can be co-opted to justify vengeance. It exposes an ethical inversion in war: acts of extreme violence are framed as devotion or repayment, showing the moral corrosion that prolonged conflict can produce.
Sanjaya reports urgent battlefield speech: a speaker seeks permission to ‘honor’ someone through an offering made of enemies’ blood and flesh, while warning that Karna is being rapidly assailed and calling for the great warrior attacking him to be restrained.