Shloka 36
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
हत्वा सुयोधन त्वां वै सहित॑ सर्वसोदरै: । आक्रमिष्ये पदा मूर्थ्नि धर्मराजस्य पश्यत:,'सुयोधन! तुझे समस्त भाइयोंसहित मारकर धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरके देखते-देखते तेरे मस्तकको पैरसे कुचल दूँगा”
sañjaya uvāca |
hatvā suyodhana tvāṁ vai sahitaḥ sarvasodaraiḥ |
ākramiṣye padā mūrdhni dharmarājasya paśyataḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O Suyodhana, after slaying you together with all your brothers, I will trample your head beneath my foot—while Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) looks on.” The utterance conveys a vow of ruthless retribution, framing the coming conflict not merely as battle but as a public moral reckoning in which the Kaurava leader’s humiliation is imagined as proof of the Pāṇḍavas’ vindication.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the language of vengeance and public humiliation can eclipse dharma even when one believes oneself justified. By invoking Dharmarāja as a witness, the speaker frames violence as moral proof; the ethical tension lies in whether righteousness is demonstrated by restraint and justice or by retaliatory cruelty.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war exchanges, Sañjaya reports (or voices) a fierce vow directed at Suyodhana (Duryodhana): he will be killed along with his brothers, and his head will be trampled in front of Yudhiṣṭhira. The statement intensifies the atmosphere of impending war and signals the desire not only to defeat but to disgrace the Kaurava leader.