Shloka 38

Devanagari script

तेन हास्य प्रतिज्ञातं भीमसेनमहं युधि । हन्तेति स्वयमागम्य स्मरता वैरमुत्तमम्‌,अलायुधने अपने भारी वैरीको याद करते हुए स्वयं आकर दुर्योधनके सामने यह प्रतिज्ञा की थी कि मैं युद्धमें भीमसेनको मार डालूँगा

Transliteration

tena hāsya pratijñātaṃ bhīmasenam ahaṃ yudhi | hante iti svayam āgamya smaratā vairam uttamam ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Remembering his intense enmity, he himself came forward and made this vow: “In battle, I will slay Bhīmasena.” The statement highlights how personal hatred can harden into a public pledge, binding one’s conduct in war to private vengeance rather than to restraint and righteousness.

Word by Word

तेनby him/therefore (by that)

हindeed/for emphasis

अस्यof him

प्रतिज्ञातम्was vowed/promised

भीमसेनम्Bhimasena

अहम्I

युधिin battle

हन्ताI shall kill

इतिthus/quoting

स्वयम्himself

आगम्यhaving come

स्मरताwhile remembering/by remembering

वैरम्enmity

उत्तमम्great/supreme

वैindeed/certainly

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Duryodhana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical danger of letting personal hatred dictate one’s vows and actions in war: a public pledge born of vengeance can eclipse dharmic restraint and intensify violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that, driven by remembered hostility, a warrior personally approached and declared before Duryodhana a vow to kill Bhīmasena in battle, sharpening the conflict’s personal stakes.