Shloka 20
अध्याय ९ — दुर्योधनस्य अन्त्यावस्था, विलापः, तथा सौप्तिक-प्रतिवृत्तम्
Duryodhana’s Final Condition, Lamentation, and the Night’s Report
कथं विवरमद्राक्षीद् भीमसेनस्तवानघ । बलिन कृतिनं नित्यं स च पापात्मवान् नृप,“निष्पाप राजसिंह! आपको समस्त धनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ कहा जाता था। आप गदायुद्धमें धनाध्यक्ष कुबेरकी समानता करनेवाले तथा साक्षात् संकर्षणके शिष्य थे तो भी भीमसेनने कैसे आपपर प्रहार करनेका अवसर पा लिया? नरेश्वर! आप तो सदासे ही बलवान् और गदायुद्धके विद्वान् रहे हैं। फिर उस पापात्माने कैसे आपको मार दिया?
sañjaya uvāca | kathaṃ vivaram adrākṣīd bhīmasenas tavānagha | balin kṛtinaṃ nityaṃ sa ca pāpātmavān nṛpa ||
Sañjaya said: “O sinless king, how did Bhīmasena find an opening against you? You were ever strong and accomplished; yet that sinful-minded man, O ruler, managed to strike you down. How could he obtain the chance to attack one who was always powerful and skilled?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the strong and skilled can be brought down when a single ‘vivara’—a momentary lapse or vulnerability—appears; the verse also reflects how narrators in the Mahabharata frame events with moral evaluation, calling an opponent ‘pāpātmavān’ to mark ethical condemnation amid war.
Sanjaya addresses the king and asks how Bhimasena managed to find an opening and strike down someone described as consistently powerful and accomplished, expressing astonishment at the defeat and emphasizing the suddenness of the fatal opportunity.