Shloka 13
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
हृष्टेन राजन् कुरुसत्तमस्य क्षुद्रात्मना भीमसेनेन पादम् । दृष्टवा कृतं मूर्थनि नाभ्यनन्दन् धर्मात्मान: सोमकानां प्रबर्हा:,राजन! क्षुद्र बुद्धिवाले भीमसेनने हर्षमें भरकर जो कुरुश्रेष्ठ राजा दुर्योधनके मस्तकपर पैर रखा, उनके इस कार्यको देखकर सोमकोंमें जो श्रेष्ठ एवं धर्मात्मा पुरुष थे, वे प्रसन्न नहीं हुए और न उन्होंने उनके इस कुकृत्यका अभिनन्दन ही किया
hṛṣṭena rājan kurusattamasya kṣudrātmanā bhīmasenena pādam | dṛṣṭvā kṛtaṁ mūrdhani nābhyanandan dharmātmānaḥ somakānāṁ prabarhāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, when the mean-spirited Bhīmasena, exulting, set his foot upon the head of Duryodhana—the foremost of the Kurus—the noble and righteous leaders among the Somakas, seeing this done, did not approve it, nor did they applaud that wrongful act.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that dharma governs conduct even amid war: humiliating a fallen enemy is ethically blameworthy. The righteous (dharmātmānaḥ) may support victory yet still reject actions driven by pettiness and triumphal cruelty.
After Duryodhana’s defeat, Bhīma, in elation, places his foot on Duryodhana’s head. Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the leading Somakas, though allies of the Pāṇḍavas, do not approve and do not praise this act.