Shloka 623
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणाभिमुख्यं तथा सात्यकि-कर्ण-समागमः
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s advance toward Droṇa and the Sātyaki–Karṇa confrontation
स मे वध्यो भवेच्छत्रुर्यद्यपि स्यान्मुनिव्रत: । मैंने तो पहलेसे ही यह प्रतिज्ञा कर रखी है कि जिसके द्वारा कभी भी मेरा तिरस्कार हो जायगा अथवा जो संग्रामभूमिमें मुझे पटककर जीते-जी रोषपूर्वक मुझे लात मारेगा, वह शत्रु मुनियोंके समान मौनव्रत लेकर ही क्यों न बैठा हो, अवश्य मेरा वध्य होगा
sa me vadhyo bhavec chatrur yady api syān munivrataḥ |
Sañjaya said: “That enemy shall be slain by me. I have already made this vow: whoever at any time insults me, or whoever in the battlefield throws me down and, while I yet live, kicks me in wrath—though he may sit observing the silent vows of sages—must still be counted my rightful target for death.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the binding force of a personal vow tied to honor: grave humiliation in war is treated as a moral trigger for retributive justice, so strong that even an enemy’s later ascetic restraint (muni-like vows) does not cancel the vowed consequence.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s declared resolve: anyone who insults him or defeats and humiliates him on the battlefield—specifically by throwing him down and kicking him in anger—will be slain, regardless of whether that person later adopts the outward discipline of a sage.