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 disse: Ó rei, quando Bhīmasena, de espírito mesquinho e em júbilo, pôs o pé sobre a cabeça de Duryodhana—o mais eminente entre os Kurus—os nobres e justos líderes entre os Somakas, ao verem isso, não o aprovaram nem aplaudiram aquele ato contrário ao dharma.
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.