Shloka 1636
निहन्मि दुःशासनमप्य पापं संरक्ष्यतामद्य समस्तयोधा: । उन्होंने वहाँ कर्ण, दुर्योधन, कृपाचार्य, अश्वत्थामा और कृतवर्माको सम्बोधित करके कहा--'आज मैं पापी दुःशासनको मारे डालता हूँ। तुम समस्त योद्धा मिलकर उसकी रक्षा कर सको तो करो”
sañjaya uvāca | nihanmi duḥśāsanam adya pāpaṁ saṁrakṣyatām adya samasta-yodhāḥ |
Sanjaya said: “Today I will slay the sinful Duhshasana. Let all the warriors protect him today—if they are able.” Addressing Karna, Duryodhana, Kripacharya, Ashvatthama, and Kritavarma, he issued this challenge, casting Duhshasana’s death as a deed of moral reckoning within the brutal logic of war and retribution.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line highlights how moral judgment (“pāpa”—sinful) is invoked even amid warfare: violence is not presented as value-neutral but as tied to perceived adharma and accountability. It also reflects the epic’s tension between righteous retribution and the escalating brutality of the battlefield.
A warrior declares that he will kill Duhshasana that very day and challenges the opposing champions—Karna, Duryodhana, Kripa, Ashvatthama, and Kritavarma—to protect him if they can. The statement functions as a public vow and a tactical provocation in the midst of battle.