Shloka 173
कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter
उक्तश्न संज्ञया राजन् मूढ औदरिको यथा । “राजन! बलवान् भीमसेनको भी इसने अपने धनुषकी कोटिसे दबाकर युद्धके लिये प्रेरित किया था और उन्हें मूर्ख, पेटू आदि नामोंसे पुकारा था
uktaś ca saṃjñayā rājan mūḍha audariko yathā |
Sañjaya said: “O King, he addressed him with insulting epithets—calling him ‘foolish’ and ‘gluttonous,’ as one might deride a dull-witted, belly-driven man.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech: derisive labeling and contemptuous name-calling are used as weapons, revealing how verbal aggression can degrade dharma and inflame hostility even amid a kṣatriya war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior is being provoked and demeaned through insulting epithets—‘fool’ and ‘glutton’—a tactic meant to shame, unsettle, and spur him into combat.