Shloka 46
रात्रौ युद्धप्रवृत्तिः — Night Battle Begins; Duryodhana’s Protective Orders for Droṇa
Droṇa-parva 139
यच्च षण्ढतिलादीनि परुषाणि तवात्मजै: । श्रावितास्ते महात्मान: पाण्डवा: कोपयिष्णुनि:,आपके पुत्रोंने जो पाण्डवोंको कुपित करनेके लिये षण्ढतिल (सारहीन तिल या नपुंसक) आदि कठोर बातें उन महामनस्वी पाण्डवोंको सुनायी थीं, उसके कारण पाण्षुपुत्र भीमसेनके हृदयमें तेरह वर्षोतक जो क्रोधाग्नि धधकती रही है उसीको निकालते हुए भीमसेन आपके पुत्रोंका अन्त कर रहे हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
yac ca ṣaṇḍhatilādīni paruṣāṇi tavātmajaiḥ |
śrāvitās te mahātmānaḥ pāṇḍavāḥ kopayiṣṇubhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: And those harsh taunts—such as calling them ‘ṣaṇḍhatila’ and the like—were spoken by your sons with the intent to provoke. Those words were made to be heard by the high-souled Pāṇḍavas; and now Bhīmasena, giving outlet to the fire of anger that has smoldered in his heart for thirteen years, is bringing your sons to their end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruel speech meant to humiliate and provoke can accumulate long-term consequences; the verse frames Bhīma’s violent retribution as the delayed eruption of anger kindled by sustained insult, highlighting the ethical danger of harmful words and intentional provocation.
Sañjaya reminds Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍavas were earlier subjected to harsh taunts by the Kauravas. He explains that Bhīma is now destroying Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons as an outpouring of the anger that has been burning since those humiliations, intensified over the long period of exile.