Shloka 2
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! दुर्योधनको ऊँचे एवं विशाल शालवृक्षके समान गिराया गया देख समस्त पाण्डव मन-ही-मन बड़े प्रसन्न हुए और निकट जाकर उसे देखने लगे ।। उन्मत्तमिव मातडुूं सिंहेन विनिपातितम् । ददृशुर्ह्डष्टरोमाण: सर्वे ते चापि सोमका:,समस्त सोमकोंने भी सिंहके द्वारा गिराये गये मदमत्त गजराजके समान जब दुर्योधनको धराशायी हुआ देखा तो हर्षसे उनके अंगोंमें रोमांच हो आया
sañjaya uvāca | rājann duryodhanaṃ ūñce evaṃ viśālaśālavṛkṣa-sadṛśaṃ girāyitaṃ dṛṣṭvā samastāḥ pāṇḍavā manomanaṃ mahāprītā abhavan, samīpaṃ gatvā taṃ draṣṭum ārabdhāḥ || unmattaṃ iva mātaṅgaṃ siṃhena vinipātitam | dadṛśur hṛṣṭaromāṇaḥ sarve te cāpi somakāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, seeing Duryodhana felled—like a lofty, massive śāla tree—the Pāṇḍavas felt inward joy and drew near to look upon him. The Somakas too, beholding him prostrate like a rut-maddened lordly elephant brought down by a lion, thrilled with exultation, their bodies breaking into gooseflesh.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral complexity of battle: the fall of a powerful wrongdoer can bring relief and even joy, yet that exhilaration itself reveals how war disturbs the inner balance of all parties. It implicitly contrasts the inevitability of consequences for adharma with the need for restraint and sobriety even in victory.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana has been struck down. The Pāṇḍavas and the Somakas approach to see him and react with visible excitement, described through similes of a great śāla tree felled and a rut-maddened elephant brought down by a lion.