Shloka 15
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
गतो<सि वैरस्यानृण्यं प्रतिज्ञा पूरिता त्वया । शुभेनाथाशुभेनैव कर्मणा विरमाधुना,'भीम! तुम वैरसे उऋण हुए। तुमने शुभ या अशुभ कर्मसे अपनी प्रतिज्ञा पूरी कर ली। अब तो इस कार्यसे विरत हो जाओ
sañjaya uvāca | gato 'si vairasyānṛṇyaṃ pratijñā pūritā tvayā | śubhenāthāśubhenaiva karmaṇā viramādhunā ||
Sañjaya said: “You have now discharged the debt of enmity; your vow has been fulfilled by you. Whether through an act deemed auspicious or through one deemed inauspicious, you have completed what you pledged—now desist from this deed, O Bhīma.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a vow of vengeance has been carried out, one should recognize the moral ambiguity of the act (śubha/aśubha) and practice restraint thereafter; fulfilling a pledge does not justify continuing violence beyond its stated end.
Sañjaya addresses Bhīma, stating that Bhīma has completed his pledged act and is now ‘free of the debt’ of hostility; therefore, Sañjaya urges him to stop and not proceed further in the same violent course.