Shloka 23
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
दिष्टया हतो<यं पापात्मा सामात्यज्ञातिबान्धव: । “यह नराधम अब किसी योग्य नहीं है। न यह किसीका मित्र है और न शत्रु। राजाओ! यह तो सूखे काठके समान कठोर है। इसे कटुवचनोंद्वारा अधिक झुकानेकी चेष्टा करनेसे क्या लाभ? अब शीघ्र अपने रथोंपर बैठो। हम सब लोग छावनीकी ओर चलें। सौभाग्यसे यह पापात्मा अपने मन्त्री, कुटुम्ब और भाई-बन्धुओंसहित मार डाला गया” || २१-२२ ह || इति श्रुत्वा त्वधिक्षेपं कृष्णाद् दुर्योधनो नूप:
sañjaya uvāca | diṣṭyā hato 'yaṃ pāpātmā sāmātya-jñāti-bāndhavaḥ | iti śrutvā tv adhikṣepaṃ kṛṣṇād duryodhano nūpaḥ ||
Санджая сказал: «К счастью, этот грешник был убит — вместе со своими министрами, родичами и союзниками». Услышав от Кришны это язвительное порицание, царь Дурьодхана…
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral framing common in the epic: the fall of a “pāpātmā” (wicked-minded person) is presented as a fortunate turn of fate, and harsh speech (adhikṣepa) is used as a deliberate ethical and psychological weapon in war—raising questions about righteous conduct, the limits of speech, and the role of fate in human conflict.
Sañjaya reports that someone regarded as sinful has been killed along with his supporters. This statement is characterized as a taunt coming from Kṛṣṇa, and upon hearing it, Duryodhana (the king) reacts—setting up the next action or response in the surrounding passage.