Shloka 28
सुयोधनमिमं पाप॑ हन्तास्मि गदया युधि । शिर: पादेन चास्याहमधिष्ठास्यथामि भूतले,साथ ही इस भरी सभामें मैं पुन: एक बहुत बड़ी बात कह रहा हूँ। मेरा यह विश्वास है कि देवतालोग मेरी यह बात सत्य कर दिखायेंगे। जब हम कौरव और पाण्डवोंमें युद्ध होगा, उस समय इस पापी दुर्योधनको मैं गदासे मार गिराऊँगा तथा रणभूमिमें पड़े हुए इस पापीके मस्तकको पैरसे ठुकराऊँगा
suyodhanam imaṁ pāpaṁ hantāsmi gadayā yudhi | śiraḥ pādena cāsyāham adhiṣṭhāsyāmi bhūtale ||
This sinful Suyodhana (Duryodhana) I will kill in battle with my mace; and when he lies fallen on the battlefield, I will set my foot upon his head on the ground.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how public humiliation and perceived adharma can harden into a vow of violent retaliation. It raises an ethical tension central to the epic: even when one’s cause is just, anger-driven speech and the desire to dishonor an enemy (stepping on the head) can intensify conflict and bind the speaker to a harsh course of action.
In the royal assembly during the dice-game crisis, Bhīma openly vows that when war comes between the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, he will kill Duryodhana with a mace and, after felling him, will place his foot upon Duryodhana’s head on the battlefield—an oath spoken as a challenge and a promise of future vengeance.