Shloka 61
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
वृकोदरेण क्षुद्रेण सुनुशंसमिदं कृतम् । मूर्धाभिषिक्तस्य शिर: पादेन परिमृदूनता,“एक मूर्धाभिषिक्त सम्राट्के मस्तकपर लात मारते हुए नीच भीमसेनने यह बड़ा ही क्रूरतापूर्ण कार्य कर डाला है
vṛkodareṇa kṣudreṇa sūnuśaṃsam idaṃ kṛtam | mūrdhābhiṣiktasya śiraḥ pādena parimṛdūnatā ||
Sañjaya said: “This utterly cruel deed has been done by the base Vṛkodara. Trampling with his foot upon the head of one who had been consecrated as king, he has ground it down.” The verse conveys moral shock at the humiliation of a crowned ruler—violence made into a deliberate violation of royal dignity and accepted codes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that in war, wrongdoing is not only measured by killing but also by intentional dishonor—especially against a consecrated ruler. It frames such humiliation as a grave ethical breach, intensifying the sense of adharma through contempt and cruelty.
Sañjaya reports an act attributed to Vṛkodara (Bhīma): he tramples and crushes with his foot the head of a ‘mūrdhābhiṣikta’—a king who had undergone royal consecration—presenting it as a shocking and cruel deed.