Shloka 9
Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)
अन्यायेन हतं दृष्टवा गदायुद्धेन भारत । युधिष्ठिरे महाराज महद् भयमथाविशत्,राजन्! भरतवंशी महाराज! धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र महाबली दुर्योधनको भीमसेनने युद्धमें उसके नियमका उल्लंघन करके मारा है। वह गदायुद्धके द्वारा मारा गया है। इन सब बातोंपर दृष्टिपात करके युधिष्ठिरके मनमें बड़ा भारी भय समा गया
anyāyena hataṃ dṛṣṭvā gadāyuddhena bhārata | yudhiṣṭhire mahārāja mahad bhayam athāviśat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing that (Duryodhana) had been slain by an unrighteous act in a mace-fight, O descendant of Bharata, a great fear entered King Yudhiṣṭhira. The victory, tainted by a breach of the accepted rules of combat, turns at once into an ethical crisis: Yudhiṣṭhira foresees blame, sin, and the dangerous consequences that follow when dharma is violated even in war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when the enemy is defeated, victory gained through adharma (rule-breaking injustice) produces moral peril. The verse highlights that ethical transgression in warfare rebounds as fear, guilt, and anticipated consequences—especially for a dharma-minded king like Yudhiṣṭhira.
After Duryodhana is killed in a mace-duel in a manner judged ‘unrighteous’ (anyāyena), Yudhiṣṭhira is seized by great fear. The scene marks the immediate ethical fallout of the duel’s breach of accepted combat norms.