Shloka 313

Devanagari script

कि तदा न निहंस्येनं भूत्वा पुरुषसत्तम: । जिस समय पराक्रमी भूरिश्रवा तुझे लातसे मारकर धरतीपर घसीट रहे थे, तू बड़ा श्रेष्ठ पुरुष था, तो उसी समय उन्हें क्यों नहीं मार डाला?

Transliteration

ki tadā na nihanyenam bhūtvā puruṣasattamaḥ |

Translation

Dhṛṣṭadyumna said: “If you were truly the best of men, why did you not strike him down at that very moment? When the mighty Bhūriśravas was kicking you and dragging you along the ground, why did you not kill him then?”

Word by Word

किम्why?/what?

तदाthen, at that time

नnot

निहंस्यwould (you) kill/slay

एनम्him

भूत्वाhaving become/being

पुरुषसत्तमःthe best of men

Speaker

धृष्टह्युम्न उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛṣṭadyumna

Bhūriśravas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the tension between valor and restraint: in war, a warrior is judged not only by strength but by timely action and adherence to a code of honor. Dhṛṣṭadyumna challenges the consistency of claiming moral or heroic superiority while failing to respond when directly humiliated and endangered.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna confronts a warrior (implied to be Sātyaki in the surrounding episode) about the Bhūriśravas encounter. He points to the moment when Bhūriśravas physically abused and dragged him, asking why he did not kill Bhūriśravas then—highlighting questions of rightful retaliation and battlefield propriety.