Shloka 13
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
हृष्टेन राजन् कुरुसत्तमस्य क्षुद्रात्मना भीमसेनेन पादम् । दृष्टवा कृतं मूर्थनि नाभ्यनन्दन् धर्मात्मान: सोमकानां प्रबर्हा:
hṛṣṭena rājan kurusattamasya kṣudrātmanā bhīmasenena pādam | dṛṣṭvā kṛtaṁ mūrdhani nābhyanandan dharmātmānaḥ somakānāṁ prabarhāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, tatkala Bhīmasena yang berhati kecil, dalam kegirangan yang meluap, meletakkan kakinya di atas kepala Duryodhana—yang utama antara kaum Kuru—para pemimpin Somaka yang mulia dan berpegang pada dharma, setelah menyaksikannya, tidak merestui perbuatan itu, dan tidak pula memuji tindakan yang salah tersebut.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that dharma governs conduct even amid war: humiliating a fallen enemy is ethically blameworthy. The righteous (dharmātmānaḥ) may support victory yet still reject actions driven by pettiness and triumphal cruelty.
After Duryodhana’s defeat, Bhīma, in elation, places his foot on Duryodhana’s head. Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the leading Somakas, though allies of the Pāṇḍavas, do not approve and do not praise this act.