Shloka 22
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
मित्राणां सुह्ृदां चैव बान्धवानां तथैव च । आनृण्यमद्य गच्छामि हत्वा त्वां भ्रातृभि: सह
mitrāṇāṃ suhṛdāṃ caiva bāndhavānāṃ tathaiva ca | ānṛṇyam adya gacchāmi hatvā tvāṃ bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ||
സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഇന്ന് എന്റെ മിത്രന്മാരോടും സ്നേഹിതന്മാരോടും ബന്ധുക്കളോടും ഉള്ള കടത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഞാൻ മോചിതനാകും—നിന്നെ നിന്റെ സഹോദരന്മാരോടുകൂടെ വധിച്ച്।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse expresses a warrior’s idea of discharging obligations (ṛṇa) to one’s supporters by decisive action in battle. Ethically, it highlights how loyalty and perceived duty can be framed as ‘debt,’ even when the means is violent retribution—revealing the tension between obligation and righteousness in the war narrative.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra conflict, a combatant declares that by killing the addressed opponent along with his brothers, he will repay what he owes to his own friends, well-wishers, and relatives—suggesting a vow of vengeance or fulfillment of pledged support within the war.