Shloka 17
अध्याय १४६ — निशायां सात्यकिदुर्योधनयुद्धम् / Chapter 146 — Night Battle: Sātyaki and Duryodhana; Śakuni’s Encirclement of Arjuna
पुत्रमिच्छामि भगवन् यो निपात्य शिने: सुतम् | मध्ये राजसहस््राणां पदा हन्याच्च संयुगे,“'भगवन्! मैं ऐसा पुत्र पाना चाहता हूँ, जो शिनिके पुत्रको सहस्रों राजाओंके बीच युद्धमें पृथ्वीपर गिराकर उसे पैरसे मारे”
putram icchāmi bhagavan yo nipātya śineḥ sutam | madhye rājasahasrāṇāṃ padā hanyāc ca saṃyuge ||
Sañjaya said: “O revered one, I desire a son who, having struck down the son of Śini amid thousands of kings, would in the thick of battle trample and beat him with his foot.” The utterance reflects a brutal, pride-driven wish for humiliating victory rather than a dharmic ideal of restrained warfare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the desire for victory can degrade into a craving for public humiliation of an opponent. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such intent signals a drift from disciplined kṣatriya conduct toward cruelty and pride, warning that motives in war matter as much as outcomes.
Sañjaya reports a statement expressing a wish for a son of extraordinary martial dominance—one who would topple Śini’s son amid a vast assembly of kings and then strike him with the foot in battle, emphasizing not only defeat but disgrace.