Shloka 29
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
अवोचचस्त्वं पाण्डवार्थेडप्रियाणि प्रधर्षयन् मां मूढवत् पापकर्मन्
avocaca stvaṃ pāṇḍavārthe 'priyāṇi pradharṣayan māṃ mūḍhavat pāpakarman
Sañjaya said: “But you, driven by hostility to the Pāṇḍavas’ cause, spoke unwelcome words—insulting me like a fool, O doer of sinful deeds.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech: hostility to a righteous cause can lead one to contemptuous, harmful words. Insulting others and speaking what is “apriya” (unwelcome/harsh) is framed as a mark of pāpa (moral fault), especially when driven by partisan anger.
Sañjaya addresses an interlocutor (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the broader frame) and reproaches him for having spoken disagreeable, insulting words against the Pāṇḍavas’ interest, treating Sañjaya with contempt and thereby revealing blameworthy conduct.