Shloka 21
Saṃśaptaka-Varūthinī Saṅgrāma — Binding and Counter-Binding (संशप्तक-वरूथिनी-संग्रामः)
हत्वा च सहितौ कृष्णौ तयोर्वित्तानि सर्वश: । तस्मै दद्यामहं यो मे प्रब्रूयात् केशवार्जुनौ,'जो मुझे श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनका पता बता देगा, उसे मैं उन दोनोंको मारकर उनका सारा धन-वैभव दे दूँगा"
hatvā ca sahitau kṛṣṇau tayor vittāni sarvaśaḥ | tasmai dadyāmahaṃ yo me prabrūyāt keśavārjunau ||
Sañjaya said: “Having slain Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna together, I would hand over to that man all their wealth in its entirety—whoever would tell me where Keśava and Arjuna are.” The utterance reveals a war-mindset in which victory is pursued through bounty and betrayal, treating the lives of the righteous as commodities and tempting others to abandon loyalty and conscience for material gain.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how desire for victory and wealth can erode dharma: offering a reward for information encourages treachery and reduces human life and righteousness to a transactional bargain, illustrating the ethical degradation that war can intensify.
In the Karṇa Parva battle context, a speaker (reported by Sañjaya) voices an intention to kill Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and promises to give away all their wealth to anyone who reveals their whereabouts—framing the search for key opponents as a bounty-driven pursuit.