Shloka 25
“एक तो आप रणभूमिमें अधर्मपूर्वक मारे गये। दूसरे भीमसेनने आपके मस्तकपर लात मारी। इतनेपर भी जिन्होंने उस नीचकी उपेक्षा की, उसे कोई दण्ड नहीं दिया, उन श्रीकृष्ण और युधिष्ठिरको धिक्कार है! ।। युद्धेष्वपवदिष्यन्ति योधा नूनं वृकोदरम् | यावत् स्थास्यन्ति भूतानि निकृत्या हसि पातित:,“आप धोखेसे गिराये गये हैं, अतः इस संसारमें जबतक प्राणियोंकी स्थिति रहेगी, तबतक सभी युद्धोंमें सम्पूर्ण योद्धा भीमसेनकी निन्दा ही करेंगे
sañjaya uvāca |
yuddheṣv apavadīṣyanti yodhā nūnaṃ vṛkodaram |
yāvat sthāsyanti bhūtāni nikṛtyā hṛṣi pātitaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “First, you were slain on the battlefield by unrighteous means. Second, Bhīmasena kicked you upon the head. Yet those who ignored that vile act and imposed no punishment—cursed be Kṛṣṇa and cursed be Yudhiṣṭhira! Warriors will surely revile Vṛkodara (Bhīma) in every battle; as long as living beings endure in this world, they will remember that you were brought down by deceit and struck down.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma in warfare—especially deceitful felling of an opponent—creates enduring moral blame. Even if a side wins, actions seen as violating kṣatriya norms can stain reputation for as long as people remember the event.
Sañjaya reports a judgment circulating among warriors: Bhīma (Vṛkodara) will be condemned because the opponent was brought down through a deceptive stratagem in the battle. The focus is not tactical success but the ethical and reputational consequences.