Shloka 18
Duryodhana-vadha-pratikriyā: Harṣa, Nindā, and Kṛṣṇa’s Nīti-vyākhyā (Śalya-parva 60)
मैत्रेयेणाभिशप्तश्न पूर्वमेव महर्षिणा । ऊरू ते भेत्स्यते भीमो गदयेति परंतप
sañjaya uvāca |
maitreyeṇābhiśaptaś ca pūrvam eva maharṣiṇā |
ūrū te bhetsyate bhīmo gadayeti parantapa ||
Sañjaya said: Long ago, the great sage Maitreya had already pronounced a curse: “Bhīma will shatter your thighs with his mace.” Thus the course of violence in the war is shown as moving under the weight of prior deeds and solemn words—where arrogance invites a destined retribution, and the moral order (dharma) asserts itself even amid battlefield fury.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality: a grave wrong and pride can draw a binding consequence, here expressed as a sage’s curse. Even in war’s chaos, dharma operates through accountability—harmful intent and misconduct return as fitting retribution.
Sañjaya recalls an earlier event: the sage Maitreya had cursed that Bhīma would break the opponent’s thighs with a mace. The statement frames the impending (or remembered) battlefield outcome as something foretold and morally charged, not merely accidental.