Shloka 9
न भूतपूर्व बीभत्सोर्वाक्यं परुषमीदृशम् । अथ कस्मात् स कौन्तेय: सखायं रूक्षमुक्तवान्,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! आचार्यपुत्र अश्वत्थामा बलवान् और सम्मानके योग्य है। उसका अर्जुनपर प्रेम है और वह भी महात्मा अर्जुनको प्रिय है। अर्जुनका उसके प्रति ऐसा कठोर वचन पहले कभी नहीं सुना गया। फिर उस दिन कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनने अपने मित्रके प्रति वैसी कठोर बात क्यों कही?
sañjaya uvāca | na bhūtapūrvaṃ bībhatsor vākyaṃ paruṣam īdṛśam | atha kasmāt sa kaunteyaḥ sakhāyaṃ rūkṣam uktavān |
Sanjaya said: “Never before has such harsh speech been heard from Arjuna (Bībhatsu). Why, then, did that son of Kuntī address his friend with such rough words?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of speech: even a virtuous, self-controlled hero is judged by the harshness of his words, and an unusual lapse invites inquiry into its cause—suggesting that anger, grief, or battlefield pressures can test dharmic restraint.
Sanjaya reports an unprecedented moment: Arjuna, normally measured, has spoken roughly to a friend. The surrounding context (as preserved in the Gita Press prose note) frames this as Dhritarashtra’s question about why Arjuna would speak harshly to Ashvatthama, who is strong, respected, and mutually affectionate with Arjuna.