Shloka 61

अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः

Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve

Devanagari script

वृकोदरेण क्षुद्रेण सुनुशंसमिदं कृतम्‌ । मूर्धाभिषिक्तस्य शिर: पादेन परिमृदूनता,“एक मूर्धाभिषिक्त सम्राट्के मस्तकपर लात मारते हुए नीच भीमसेनने यह बड़ा ही क्रूरतापूर्ण कार्य कर डाला है

Transliteration

vṛkodareṇa kṣudreṇa sūnuśaṃsam idaṃ kṛtam | mūrdhābhiṣiktasya śiraḥ pādena parimṛdūnatā ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Perbuatan yang amat kejam ini telah dilakukan oleh Vṛkodara yang hina. Dengan memijak kepala seorang raja yang telah ditabalkan, dia telah menginjak-injaknya hingga remuk.” Baris ini meluahkan kejutan moral atas penghinaan terhadap martabat seorang pemerintah yang dimahkotakan—bukan sekadar kekerasan, tetapi pelanggaran sengaja terhadap kehormatan diraja dan adab peperangan.

Word by Word

वृकोदरेणby Bhima (the wolf-bellied one)

क्षुद्रेणby the vile/mean (one)

सुनुशंसम्very cruel/most reprehensible

इदम्this

कृतम्done/committed

मूर्धाभिषिक्तस्यof the consecrated king (anointed sovereign)

शिरःhead

पादेनwith (his) foot

परिमृदूनताtrampled/pressed down (lit. rubbed/ground all around)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

mūrdhābhiṣikta (a consecrated king)

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 war, wrongdoing is not only measured by killing but also by intentional dishonor—especially against a consecrated ruler. It frames such humiliation as a grave ethical breach, intensifying the sense of adharma through contempt and cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports an act attributed to Vṛkodara (Bhīma): he tramples and crushes with his foot the head of a ‘mūrdhābhiṣikta’—a king who had undergone royal consecration—presenting it as a shocking and cruel deed.