Shloka 936

Devanagari script

कर्मणा तेन पापेन श्वपाकं ब्राह्मणा इव । 'धृष्टद्युम्न! जैसे ब्राह्मण चाण्डालकी निन्दा करते हैं, उसी प्रकार ये समस्त पाण्डव उस पाप कर्मके कारण अत्यन्त घृणा प्रकट करते हुए तेरी निन्‍दा कर रहे हैं

Transliteration

karmaṇā tena pāpena śvapākaṃ brāhmaṇā iva |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Because of that sinful deed, they revile you with intense disgust—just as Brahmins would denounce a śvapāka (outcaste).”

Word by Word

कर्मणाby the deed/action

तेनby that

पापेनby/with (that) sinful (act)

श्वपाकम्a dog-cooker; outcaste (chandala)

ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins

इवlike/as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛṣṭadyumna

Pāṇḍavas

Brāhmaṇas

Śvapāka (outcaste)

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 frames moral accountability: a single grievously unethical act can bring severe social and ethical censure, likened to the strongest traditional form of denunciation. It highlights how pāpa (wrongdoing) leads to loss of honor and communal rejection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that, due to a particular sinful deed, the Pāṇḍavas are expressing intense revulsion and are censuring Dhṛṣṭadyumna, comparing their denunciation to how Brahmins would condemn an outcaste (śvapāka).