Shloka 31
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
पश्य नागोत्तमसुते भर्तारें निहतं मया । कृतं॑ प्रियं मया तेडद्य निहत्य समरेडर्जुनम्,“नागराजकुमारी! देखो, युद्धमें मैंने तुम्हारे स््वामीका वध किया है। सम्भव है आज समरांगणमें इस तरह अर्जुनकी हत्या करके मैंने तुम्हारा प्रिय कार्य किया हो
paśya nāgottamasute bhartāraṁ nihataṁ mayā | kṛtaṁ priyaṁ mayā te 'dya nihatya samare 'rjunam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Look, O daughter of the foremost of Nāgas: I have slain your husband. Perhaps today, by killing Arjuna in battle, I have done what is dear to you.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between personal vengeance and righteous conduct: a killing is framed as a ‘pleasing’ act for another’s grief, exposing how war can turn justice into taunt and satisfaction into ethical ambiguity.
A speaker addresses a Nāga princess, pointing to her husband’s death and claiming that by killing Arjuna in battle he has likely fulfilled something she desired—suggesting a context of retaliation and emotionally charged battlefield speech.