Shloka 39
श्वपाकवन्म्लेच्छगणान् हत्वा चान्यान् पृथग्विधान् । अज्ञानान्मूढवद् ब्रह्मन् पुत्रदारधनेप्सया,“ब्रह्मन! ब्रह्मवेत्ता होकर भी आपने स्त्री, धन और पुत्रकी लिप्सासे मूर्ख चाण्डालोंके समान कितने ही म्लेच्छों तथा अन्य नाना प्रकारके क्षत्रियसमूहोंका संहार कर डाला है
śvapākavan mlecchagaṇān hatvā cānyān pṛthagvidhān | ajñānān mūḍhavad brahman putradāradhanepsayā ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Brahmin, meskipun tuan seorang yang mengetahui Brahman, didorong oleh ketamakan terhadap anak, isteri dan harta, tuan telah—seperti orang bodoh yang jahil, seperti kasta hina—membunuh gerombolan mleccha serta banyak kelompok lain yang beraneka. Bagaimana kekerasan sebegitu lahir daripada seorang yang mengenal kebenaran tertinggi?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse criticizes the contradiction between spiritual knowledge (being a brahmavit) and conduct driven by craving for worldly attachments—son, spouse, and wealth—leading to unethical violence. It frames such killing as arising from ignorance and delusion, not from true wisdom.
Sañjaya reports a rebuke directed at a learned ‘Brahman’: despite claiming higher knowledge, he is accused of slaughtering many groups (mlecchas and others) out of worldly desire, likened rhetorically to the behavior of an ignorant outcaste.