Shloka 273

Devanagari script

एवं व्युत्क्रान्तधर्मेण व्युत्क्रम्य समयं हत: । “जैसे कोई सोये अथवा पागल हुए मनुष्यको मार दे या धोखेसे जहर देकर किसीकी हत्या कर डाले, उसी प्रकार धर्मका उल्लंघन करनेवाले पापी भीमसेनने गदायुद्धकी मर्यादाका उल्लंघन करके मुझे मारा है

Transliteration

evaṁ vyutkrāntadharmeṇa vyutkramya samayaṁ hataḥ |

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ ധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വഴുതിയും ഗദായുദ്ധത്തിന്റെ നിശ്ചിത നിയമം ലംഘിച്ചും എന്നെ വീഴ്ത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

एवम्thus, in this manner

व्युत्क्रान्तधर्मेणby one who has transgressed dharma / by transgressed-dharma conduct

व्युत्क्रम्यhaving transgressed, having violated

समयम्the agreement, convention, rule

हतःslain, killed

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that in dharma-based warfare, legitimacy depends not only on winning but on honoring agreed rules (samaya). A victory gained by violating the code is portrayed as ethically tainted, and the language ‘vyutkrāntadharma’ marks such conduct as a departure from righteous order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a killing/defeat described as occurring through a breach of the established terms of combat. The speaker characterizes the blow as one delivered after transgressing the duel’s convention, emphasizing moral controversy rather than mere martial outcome.