Shloka 38
कि कत्थनेन बहुना युध्यस्व त्वं वृकोदर । अद्य तेडहं विनेष्यामि युद्धअ्रद्धां कुलाधम,“वृकोदर! बहुत बढ़-बढ़कर बातें बनानेसे क्या लाभ? तू मेरे साथ संग्राम कर ले। कुलाधम! आज मैं तेरा युद्धका हौसला मिटा दूँगा
kiṁ katthanena bahunā yudhyasva tvaṁ vṛkodara | adya te 'haṁ vineṣyāmi yuddhaśraddhāṁ kulādhama ||
Sañjaya said: “What is the use of all this boasting, O Vṛkodara? Fight with me. O disgrace to your lineage, today I shall destroy your confidence for battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield dynamic: psychological warfare through taunts aims to destabilize an opponent’s courage (yuddhaśraddhā). Ethically, it contrasts external bravado and insult with the inner steadiness expected of a disciplined warrior.
In the Shalya Parva war setting, a speaker challenges Bhīma (Vṛkodara) to stop boasting and engage directly in combat, threatening to crush his fighting confidence and hurling the insult “kulādhama.”