Shloka 56
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
शिरश्न राजसिंहस्य पादेन समलोडयत् | ऐसा कहकर भीमसेनने अपने बायें पैरसे उसके मुकुटको ठुकराया और उस राजसिंहके मस्तकपर भी पैरसे ठोकर मारा
śiraś ca rājasiṃhasya pādena samaloḍayat |
サンジャヤは言った。「ビーマセーナはそう言い放つと、左足で冠を蹴り落とし、さらに『王たちの中の獅子』たるその者の頭をも足で蹴りつけた。」この行為は、戦場における復讐の残酷な帰結を示し、怒りと報復が、倒れた戦士に本来払われるべき礼節を覆い隠すことを物語っている。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how vengeance and fury in war can lead to acts that violate the ideal kṣatriya ethic of restraint and respect toward a defeated foe, inviting reflection on the moral costs of hatred even amid ‘just’ warfare.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, after speaking, uses his left foot to knock away the fallen warrior’s crown and then kicks his head—an emphatic gesture of contempt and triumph at a climactic moment of the conflict.