Shloka 36
इष्टापूर्तेन दानेन धर्मेण सुकृतेन च । अद्याहं सर्वपञ्चालान् वासुदेवस्य पश्यत:
iṣṭāpūrtena dānena dharmeṇa sukṛtena ca | adyāhaṃ sarvapañcālān vāsudevasya paśyataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “By the merit of my sacrifices and public benefactions, by my gifts, by righteousness, and by every good deed I have done, I vow that today—before Vāsudeva’s very eyes—I shall send all the Pāñcālas to Yama’s realm by every means.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the cultural weight of oaths sworn on one’s accumulated merit (iṣṭa, āpūrta, dāna, dharma, sukṛta). It also exposes an ethical tension: invoking righteousness and merit to authorize a vow of mass killing shows how dharma-language can be used to intensify warlike resolve, inviting reflection on the proper use (or misuse) of moral capital.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra war, a warrior (as reported by Sañjaya) makes a fierce vow: in Kṛṣṇa’s presence he will destroy the Pāñcālas and send them to Yama’s realm. The statement functions as a public challenge and a declaration of intent, escalating the conflict and signaling imminent violence against the Pāñcāla forces.