Shloka 17
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 73 — Kr̥ṣṇa’s Appraisal of Bhīma’s Altered Temper and Reaffirmation of Martial Resolve
शमश्न नन्दिवेगानामित्येते कुलपांसना: । युगान्ते कृष्ण सम्भूता: कुले कुपुरुषाधमा:,जैसे धर्मके विप्लवका समय उपस्थित होनेपर तेजसे प्रज्वलित होनेवाले समृद्धिशाली असुरोंमें भयंकर कलह उत्पन्न हुआ था, उसी प्रकार हैहयवंशमें मुदावर्त, नीपकुलमें जनमेजय, तालजंघोंके वंशमें बहुल, कृमिकुलमें उद्ण्ड वसु, सुवीरोंके वंशमें अजबिंदु, सुराष्ट्रकुलमें रुषद्धिक, बलीहवंशमें अर्कज, चीनोंके कुलमें धौतमूलक, विदेहवंशमें हयग्रीव, महौजा नामक क्षत्रियोंके कुलमें वरयु, सुन्दरवंशी क्षत्रियोंमें बाहु, दीप्ताक्षकुलमें पुरूरवा, चेदि और मत्स्यदेशमें सहज, प्रवीरवंशमें वृषध्वज, चन्द्रवत्सकुलमें धारण, मुकुटवंशमें विगाहन तथा नन्दिवेगकुलमें शम--ये सभी कुलांगार एवं नराधम क्षत्रिय युगान्तकाल आनेपर ऊपर बताये अनुसार भिन्न-भिन्न कुलोंमें प्रकट हुए थे
śamaśna nandivegānām ity ete kulapāṃsanāḥ | yugānte kṛṣṇa-sambhūtāḥ kule kupuruṣādhamāḥ ||
Bhīma said: “Śamaśna of the Nandivega line and others like him—these are the soot and disgrace of their clans. At the end of an age, when order collapses and dharma is overturned, such vile men are born in various royal houses, as though sprung from darkness itself, bringing ruin and internecine strife. Just as, in a time of dharma’s upheaval, fierce discord once arose among powerful, blazing Asuras, so too at a yugānta do these base Kṣatriyas appear in different dynasties, becoming causes of degeneration and conflict.”
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma collapses, destructive and unethical leaders arise even within respected dynasties; lineage alone does not guarantee virtue, and society must recognize and resist ‘kulapāṃsanāḥ’—those who disgrace their clans by ignoble conduct.
Bhīma is denouncing certain Kṣatriyas by portraying them as end-of-age manifestations of moral darkness, comparing their emergence and the resulting turmoil to a legendary outbreak of violent discord among powerful Asuras during a crisis of dharma.