Shloka 24
अधर्मेण हतस्याजौ मृद्यमानं पदा शिर: । य उपेक्षितवान क्षुद्रे धिक् कृष्णं धिग् युधिष्ठिरम्
adharmeṇa hatasyājau mṛdyamānaṃ padā śiraḥ | ya upekṣitavān kṣudre dhik kṛṣṇaṃ dhig yudhiṣṭhiram ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Kepala orang yang dibunuh di medan perang dengan cara adharma sedang dipijak dan dihancurkan. Terkutuklah Kṛṣṇa, dan terkutuklah Yudhiṣṭhira—yang dengan hati yang sempit hanya memandang dan tidak menghalanginya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical horror of adharma in war: even after a wrongful killing, further indignity—trampling a slain person’s head—signals moral collapse. It also frames accountability: leaders and exemplars (here invoked as Kṛṣṇa and Yudhiṣṭhira) are blamed when they tolerate or fail to restrain petty, cruel conduct.
Sañjaya reports a scene of post-combat brutality: the head of someone killed by unrighteous means is being crushed underfoot. In anger, he utters an imprecation against Kṛṣṇa and Yudhiṣṭhira, accusing them of having ignored (upekṣita) such base behavior.