Shloka 38
सौबलस्य वर्ध॑ प्रेप्सुरिदं वचनमत्रवीत् । क्रोधसंरक्तनयनो नि:श्वसन्निव पन्नग:
saubalasya vadhaṁ prepsur idaṁ vacanam abravīt | krodha-saṁrakta-nayano niḥśvasann iva pannagaḥ |
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sa pagnanais na mamatay si Śakuni, anak ni Subala, sinabi niya ang mga salitang ito. Namumula sa galit ang kanyang mga mata, at mabigat ang kanyang paghinga na parang pagsitsit ng ahas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can seize even a righteous warrior-mind, pushing it toward immediate vengeance. In the dice-hall’s moral collapse, the text underscores the ethical danger of wrath: it narrows judgment, intensifies hostility, and accelerates violence—thereby worsening adharma rather than restoring dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that a Pandava (contextually Sahadeva in many recensions and commentarial traditions) becomes intensely enraged and, intent on killing Śakuni (called Saubala), begins to speak. His serpent-like heaving breath and reddened eyes mark a turning point where the humiliation and deceit of the assembly provoke a vow-like urge for retribution.