Shloka 16
Chapter 137: Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) Slays Somadatta; Yudhiṣṭhira Redirected from Droṇa
यत् तत् सभायां भीमेन मम पुत्रवधाश्रयम्,दुःशासन: सह भ्रात्रा भयाद् भीमादुपारमत् | क्रोधमें भरे हुए भयंकर भीमसेनने सभाभवनमें उस दिन समस्त कौरवोंके सुनते हुए मेरे पुत्रोंके वधके सम्बन्धमें जो प्रतिज्ञा की थी, उसका विचार करके और कर्णको पराजित देखकर अपने भाई दुर्योधनसहित दुःशासन निश्चय ही भयके मारे भीमसेनसे दूर हट गया होगा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yat tat sabhāyāṃ bhīmena mama putra-vadhāśrayam, duḥśāsanaḥ saha bhrātrā bhayād bhīmād upāramat |
Mengingat sumpah Bhima di balairung kerajaan—tentang pembinasaan putra-putraku—dan melihat Karna telah dikalahkan, Duhsasana, bersama saudaranya, pastilah mundur dari Bhima karena takut.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Public wrongdoing and public vows create moral inevitability: when power and pride collapse (here, after Karṇa’s defeat), fear arises and the perpetrators sense the approaching consequences of their adharma. The verse highlights how accountability in the epic is not only legal or political but also ethical and psychological.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on Bhīma’s earlier assembly-hall vow to kill the Kauravas and infers that Duḥśāsana, along with his brother Duryodhana, must have backed away from Bhīma in fear—especially upon seeing Karṇa defeated on the battlefield.