Shloka 36
एते चान्ये च बहवो निहतास्त्वत्कृते नृपा: । त्वामद्य निहनिष्यामि गदया नात्र संशय:,'ये तथा और भी बहुत-से नरेश तेरे लिये युद्धमें मारे गये हैं। आज तुझे भी गदासे मार गिराऊँगा, इसमें संशय नहीं है”
ete cānye ca bahavo nihatās tvat-kṛte nṛpāḥ | tvām adya nihaniṣyāmi gadayā nātra saṁśayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “These and many other kings have been slain on your account. Today I shall strike you down with my mace—of this there is no doubt.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability in war: the speaker frames the deaths of many kings as occurring “on your account,” stressing that leadership and personal ambition can generate vast collateral suffering, and that vows of vengeance arise from perceived responsibility for that suffering.
In the Shalya Parva’s battle context, a warrior (reported by Sañjaya) addresses an opponent, pointing to the many rulers already killed for the opponent’s cause and declaring a firm resolve to kill him that very day with a mace, emphasizing the immediacy and certainty of the impending duel.