Shloka 18
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 73 — Kr̥ṣṇa’s Appraisal of Bhīma’s Altered Temper and Reaffirmation of Martial Resolve
अप्ययं न: कुरूणां स्याद् युगान्ते कालसम्भृत: । दुर्योधन: कुलाड्रारो जघन्य: पापपूरुष:
apy ayaṁ naḥ kurūṇāṁ syād yugānte kāla-sambhṛtaḥ | duryodhanaḥ kulāṅgāro jaghanyaḥ pāpa-pūruṣaḥ ||
Bhīma déclare : «Duryodhana aussi—à l’instar des rois évoqués plus haut—est apparu à la fin de l’âge, poussé par le Temps lui-même, pour devenir la cause de la ruine de notre lignée des Kuru. Je le marque du sceau de “brandons de la famille” : un homme bas et pécheur, dont la naissance même et la conduite menacent la destruction du clan.»
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames moral collapse as both personal culpability and a larger cosmic pressure: a wicked leader becomes a ‘kula-aṅgāra’ who endangers the whole lineage, while Kāla (Time) is invoked to show how adharma ripens toward destruction at a yuga’s end.
In Bhima’s forceful denunciation during the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, he characterizes Duryodhana as a vile, sinful figure whose rise—like that of other destructive kings—signals impending catastrophe for the Kuru family.