Shloka 233
Gadā-yuddhe Bhīma–Duryodhanayoḥ Tumulaḥ Saṃprahāraḥ
Mace-duel’s intense exchange
समाप्तं भरतश्रेष्ठ मातापित्रोश्व दर्शनम् । “आज एक दिनमें इसका वध करके मैं अपने-आपसे उऋण हो जाऊँगा। भरतभूषण! आज दुर्बुद्धि एवं अजितात्मा धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रकी आयु समाप्त हो गयी है। इसे माता-पिताके दर्शनका अवसर भी अब नहीं मिलनेवाला है
samāptaṃ bharataśreṣṭha mātāpitror darśanam | “adya eka-dinena asya vadhaṃ kṛtvā ahaṃ svayam-ṛṇo bhaviṣyāmi | bharatabhūṣaṇa! adya durbuddhiḥ ajitātmā dhṛtarāṣṭra-putrasya āyuḥ samāptā | asmai mātā-pitṛ-darśanasya avasaro 'pi idānīṃ na bhaviṣyati”
Sanjaya berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik di antara Bharata, kesempatan baginya untuk memandang ibu dan ayahnya telah berakhir. ‘Hari ini, dalam satu hari saja, dengan membunuhnya aku akan melunasi hutangku sendiri. Wahai perhiasan wangsa Bharata! Hari ini usia putra Dhṛtarāṣṭra—yang buruk budi dan tak menaklukkan diri—telah sampai batasnya; baginya takkan ada lagi kesempatan bahkan untuk melihat kedua orang tuanya.’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames war-death as the culmination of moral and psychological failure: lack of self-mastery (ajitātmā) and misguided counsel (durbuddhi) lead to a fate where even basic human consolations—like seeing one’s parents—are cut off. It also highlights the warrior’s sense of obligation (ṛṇa) and the dangerous ethic of ‘repaying’ debts through violence.
Sañjaya reports that a Kaurava prince, identified as Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, is at the end of his life. A speaker within the reported speech declares that he will kill him that very day and thereby become ‘free of debt,’ while noting that the doomed prince will no longer have any chance to see his mother and father.