Shloka 21
Gadā-yuddhe Bhīma–Duryodhanayoḥ Tumulaḥ Saṃprahāraḥ
Mace-duel’s intense exchange
प्रमाणकोट्यां पातस्य दाहस्य जतुवेश्मनि । सभायामवहासस्य सर्वस्वहरणस्यथ च
sañjaya uvāca |
pramāṇakoṭyāṃ pātasya dāhasya jatuveśmani |
sabhāyām avahāsasya sarvasvaharaṇasya ca ||
Sañjaya berkata: “(Dia mengingati) penghinaan ketika dicampakkan ke perairan Pramāṇakoṭī, cubaan membakarnya di rumah lak, ejekan terbuka di balairung diraja, serta perampasan segala harta. Luka-luka ingatan ini membentuk krisis moral: tekad sang penutur untuk menamatkan deritanya dengan membalas orang yang berulang kali mencabuli pertalian darah, keadilan, dan tata susila raja.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse gathers a catalogue of grave violations—attempted murder, arson, public dishonor, and dispossession—showing how adharma accumulates consequences. Ethically, it highlights the tension between justified accountability and the consuming pull of vengeance, a recurring Mahābhārata concern.
Sanjaya reports a character’s recollection of past atrocities: being thrown into the Pramāṇakoṭī waters, the attempt to burn him in the lac-house, ridicule in the royal assembly, and the taking of his entire wealth. These memories are invoked to justify a resolve to bring those sufferings to an end through confrontation in the war context.