Shloka 12
Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
अद्य ते5पचितिं कृत्वा शितैर्माधव सायकै: । तत्स्त्रियो नन्दयिष्यामि ये त्वया निहता रणे,“मधुकुलनन्दन! आज तीखे बाणोंसे तुम्हारी पूजा करके मैं उन वीरोंकी स्त्रियोंको आनन्दित करूँगा, जिन्हें रणभूमिमें तुमने मार डाला है
sañjaya uvāca | adya te 'pacitiṃ kṛtvā śitair mādhava sāyakaiḥ | tat striyo nandayiṣyāmi ye tvayā nihatā raṇe |
Sañjaya said: “Today, O Mādhava, having rendered you ‘honour’ with my sharp arrows, I shall gladden the women of those warriors whom you have slain in battle.” The line is charged with bitter irony: the speaker twists the language of reverence into a threat, presenting violence as a perverse ‘offering’ and aiming to repay grief with further cruelty.
संजय उवाच