Shloka 31
हतो दुर्योधन: पापो राज्यस्य परिपन्थिक: । दुःशासनस्य रुधिरं पीत॑ विस्फुरतो मया,“हमारे राज्यका लुटेरा पापी दुर्योधन मारा गया और छटपटाते हुए दुःशासनका रक्त भी मैंने पी लिया। वैरका भरपूर बदला चुका लिया गया। अब कुछ कहनेकी इच्छावाले लोग हमलोगोंकी निनन््दा नहीं कर सकते। हमने द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाको जीतकर केवल ब्राह्मण और गुरुपुत्र होने-के कारण ही उसे जीवित छोड़ दिया है
hato duryodhanaḥ pāpo rājyasya paripanthi-kaḥ | duḥśāsanasya rudhiraṃ pītaṃ visphurato mayā ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «El pecador Duryodhana—enemigo y obstáculo de nuestro reino—ha sido abatido. Y mientras Duḥśāsana se retorcía y forcejeaba, bebí su sangre. Así, la venganza ha sido pagada por completo. Ahora, quienes quisieran hablar ya no pueden censurarnos. Habiendo sometido a Aśvatthāman, hijo de Droṇa, le perdonamos la vida únicamente porque es un brāhmaṇa y el hijo de nuestro maestro».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between righteous retribution and excess: vengeance is claimed as ‘fulfilled,’ yet the imagery of drinking blood underscores how war can push even justified anger toward transgressive violence; simultaneously, sparing Aśvatthāman due to brāhmaṇa-status and guru-lineage shows dharma operating as a restraint even amid hatred.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) declares that Duryodhana has been killed and that Duḥśāsana’s blood was drunk while he writhed—presented as repayment for past wrongs; the statement adds that Aśvatthāman, though defeated, was left alive out of respect for his being a brāhmaṇa and the son of Droṇa.