Shloka 31
“मैंने माताके दूधका, मधु और घीका, अच्छी तरह तैयार किये हुए मधूक-पुष्पनिर्मित पेय पदार्थका, दिव्य जलके रसका, दूध और दहीसे बिलोये हुए ताजे माखनका भी पान या रसास्वादन किया है; इन सबसे तथा इनके अतिरिक्त भी संसारमें जो अमृतके समान स्वादिष्ट पीनेयोग्य पदार्थ हैं, उन सबसे भी मेरे इस शत्रुके रक्तका स्वाद अधिक है
sañjaya uvāca — mayā mātur dugdhasya, madhunaḥ ghṛtasya ca, suparipakvaṃ madhūka-puṣpa-nirmitaṃ pānīyaṃ, divya-jala-rasaṃ, dugdha-dadhi-manthitaṃ nava-nītaṃ ca pītaṃ rasāsvāditaṃ ca; etebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ, etebhyaś ca anyebhyaḥ api loke amṛta-sadṛśa-svādiṣṭa-pānīyebhyaḥ, mama asya śatroḥ raktasya svādaḥ adhikaḥ.
Disse Sañjaya: “Provei o leite de minha mãe, o mel e o ghee; bebi uma bebida bem preparada feita de flores de madhūka; saboreei a essência das águas celestiais; e também provei manteiga fresca batida de leite e coalhada. Contudo, acima de tudo isso—e acima de toda bebida no mundo louvada como néctar—nada é tão doce para mim quanto o sabor do sangue deste inimigo.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how hatred and vengeance can corrupt discernment: even life-sustaining and sacred tastes (milk, honey, ghee, nectar-like drinks) are declared inferior to the relish of an enemy’s blood. Ethically, it functions as a warning about the dehumanizing intoxication of violence and the fall into adharma when cruelty becomes ‘sweet.’
In the midst of the Karna Parva battle context, a speaker (reported by Sanjaya) expresses extreme bloodlust, comparing many prized drinks to the ‘taste’ of an enemy’s blood and declaring the latter superior. The statement intensifies the atmosphere of ferocity and personal enmity driving the combat.