Shloka 23
दुर्योधनश्व भीमेन समेत्य गदया रणे । पश्यतां भूमिपालानामधर्मेण निपातित:,भीमसेनने भी सम्पूर्ण राजाओंके देखते-देखते रणभूमिमें गदायुद्ध करते समय दुर्योधनको अधर्मपूर्वक गिराया था
duryodhanaś ca bhīmena sametya gadayā raṇe | paśyatāṃ bhūmipālānām adharmeṇa nipātitaḥ ||
Kṛpa said: “Duryodhana, having engaged Bhīma in battle with the mace, was struck down unfairly—before the very eyes of the assembled kings.” The line underscores the moral grievance that Duryodhana’s fall was not merely a defeat in war, but a breach of righteous combat as witnessed by many rulers.
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Duryodhana’s fall as a moral issue: victory in war is not automatically righteous if achieved through adharma. By stressing that many kings witnessed it, the text highlights how public standards of kṣatriya-dharma and the rules of combat shape ethical judgment.
Kṛpa recalls the climactic mace-duel where Bhīma and Duryodhana fought before assembled rulers. He asserts that Duryodhana was brought down ‘by adharma,’ a charge that fuels the bitterness and retaliatory resolve that characterizes the Sauptika Parva’s night-time violence.