Shloka 36
कथं च निहत: पाप: पाउ्चाल्य: पशुवन्मया । शस्त्रेण विजिताललोकान् नाप्नुयादिति मे मति:
kathaṁ ca nihataḥ pāpaḥ pāñcālyaḥ paśuvanmayā | śastreṇa vijitāllokān nāpnuyād iti me matiḥ ||
मेरा ऐसा निश्चय है कि मेरे हाथों पशु की भाँति मारा गया वह पापी पाञ्चालपुत्र अस्त्र-शस्त्रों से जीते हुए पुण्यलोकों को किसी प्रकार भी प्राप्त न कर सके।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical idea that the manner of killing matters: merit-bearing “worlds” are associated with righteous combat, whereas a beast-like killing is viewed as sinful and not a source of heavenly reward.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s grim resolve: having killed the Pāñcāla prince in a degrading, non-heroic way, he believes the victim should not gain the heavenly realms typically won by warriors through honorable use of weapons.