Shloka 313
गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः
Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings
पाण्डवा: सह कृष्णेन वाग्भिरुग्राभिरार्दयन् । जब दुर्योधन जलको स्तम्भित करके उसके भीतर सो रहा था, उस समय पाण्डवलोग भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके साथ वहाँ आ पहुँचे और अपनी कठोर बातोंसे उसे कष्ट पहुँचाने लगे
pāṇḍavāḥ saha kṛṣṇena vāgbhir ugrābhir ārdayan | yadā duryodhanaḥ jalake stambhitaḥ kṛtvā tasya madhye supta āsīt, tadā pāṇḍavā bhagavantaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ saha tatra samāpetuḥ, kaṭhoravākyaiś ca taṃ pīḍayām āsuḥ |
Nārada said: The Pāṇḍavas, accompanied by Kṛṣṇa, assailed him with harsh words. At the time when Duryodhana had immobilized the water and lay hidden asleep within it, the Pāṇḍavas arrived there with Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and began to distress him with severe speech—an episode that frames the moral tension between righteous urgency in war and the ethical limits of taunting an enemy who is in concealment.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical power of speech in wartime: even when pursuing a just end, harsh taunting can intensify hostility and blur moral restraint. It invites reflection on whether righteous purpose justifies aggressive verbal conduct toward a vulnerable or concealed opponent.
Duryodhana is concealed in water, having stilled it and fallen asleep within. The Pāṇḍavas arrive with Kṛṣṇa and, seeking to draw him out or confront him, begin to afflict him through severe, provocative words.