Mahabharata 7.194.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 194, Shloka 39
श्वपाकवन्म्लेच्छगणान् हत्वा चान्यान् पृथग्विधान् । अज्ञानान्मूढवद् ब्रह्मन् पुत्रदारधनेप्सया
śvapākavan mlecchagaṇān hatvā cānyān pṛthagvidhān | ajñānān mūḍhavad brahman putradāradhanepsayā ||
Wahai Brahmana, meski engkau seorang yang mengetahui Brahman, karena hasrat akan putra, istri, dan harta, engkau—dalam kebodohan, laksana orang dungu, laksana kaum hina—telah membantai rombongan mleccha dan banyak kelompok lain yang beraneka ragam.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse criticizes the contradiction between spiritual knowledge (being a brahmavit) and conduct driven by craving for worldly attachments—son, spouse, and wealth—leading to unethical violence. It frames such killing as arising from ignorance and delusion, not from true wisdom.
Sañjaya reports a rebuke directed at a learned ‘Brahman’: despite claiming higher knowledge, he is accused of slaughtering many groups (mlecchas and others) out of worldly desire, likened rhetorically to the behavior of an ignorant outcaste.
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