Shloka 423
ब्रूहीदानीं तु संहृष्ट: पुनर्गौरिति गौरिति । “नराधम दुःशासन! यह देख, मैं तेरे गलेका खून पी रहा हूँ। अब इस समय पुनः हर्षमें भरकर मुझे 'बैल-बैल' कहकर पुकार तो सही
brūhīdānīṁ tu saṁhṛṣṭaḥ punar gaur iti gaur iti | “narādhama duḥśāsana! iha paśya, ahaṁ te gale-kā khūnaṁ pī rāhā hūṁ | adya etasmin samaye punaḥ harṣeṇa pūrṇaḥ san māṁ ‘gaur-gaur’ iti uktvā punar āhvaya eva” ||
Sañjaya dit : «À présent, dans ton exaltation, crie encore : “Bœuf ! Bœuf !” Ô Duḥśāsana, le plus vil des hommes ! Regarde : je bois le sang de ta gorge. En cet instant, rempli d’une joie farouche, appelle-moi encore par cette injure : “Bœuf, bœuf !”».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage illustrates how unchecked anger and the desire to humiliate an enemy can eclipse dharma. Even when retaliation feels ‘justified’ in a cycle of wrongs, reveling in cruelty signals ethical degradation and the tragic cost of war.
Sanjaya reports a moment of brutal triumph over Duḥśāsana: the speaker (in the scene being narrated) taunts him to repeat the insult ‘gaur’ (‘ox’) while declaring that he is drinking blood from Duḥśāsana’s throat—an act framed as revenge and public humiliation on the battlefield.