Shloka 19
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
ततः पूर्णायतोत्कृष्टं यमदण्डनिभं शरम् | मुमोच त्वरितो राजा सूतपुत्रजिघांसया
tataḥ pūrṇāyatotkṛṣṭaṃ yamadaṇḍanibhaṃ śaram | mumoca tvarito rājā sūtaputrajighāṃsayā ||
Sañjaya said: Then the king, in haste and with the intent to slay the charioteer’s son, drew his bow to the full and loosed an excellent arrow—terrible like Yama’s staff—aimed at him.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical pressure of war: even a ruler associated with dharma may act with swift, lethal intent when duty and survival demand it. It invites reflection on how intention (jighāṃsā—desire to kill) shapes the moral weight of action, even when performed within the accepted framework of battlefield duty.
Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking to kill Karṇa (called ‘sūtaputra’), quickly draws his bow to the full and shoots a powerful arrow likened to Yama’s staff, emphasizing the deadly seriousness of the exchange.