वने द्वादश वर्षाणि यानि सोढानि दुर्मते । तस्याद्य प्रतिकोपस्य फल प्राप्तुहि सम्प्रति,ओ दुर्मते! हमने बारह वर्षोतक वनमें रहकर जो क्लेश सहन किये हैं, उनका बदला चुकानेके लिये आज मेरे बढ़े हुए क्रोधका फल तू अभी चख ले
vane dvādaśa varṣāṇi yāni soḍhāni durmate | tasyādya pratikopasya phalaṃ prāptuṃ hi samprati ||
Wika ni Arjuna: “O hangal! Labindalawang taon sa gubat naming tiniis ang mga paghihirap. Ngayon, sa mismong sandaling ito, tatanggapin mo ang bunga ng paghihiganting poot—lasapin mo ito ngayon.”
अर्जुन उवाच
The verse frames suffering and injustice as generating moral and emotional consequences: endured wrongs can culminate in a demand for justice, yet the language also warns that anger seeks “fruit” (phala), implying that actions—whether righteous punishment or vengeful rage—inevitably yield results. In the epic’s ethical world, retaliation is often justified when aligned with kṣatriya-dharma and protection of order, but it remains a potent force that must be directed toward rightful ends.
Arjuna, speaking in a confrontational moment in the Virāṭa episode, declares that after the Pāṇḍavas’ twelve-year forest exile and the hardships they endured, the opponent before him will now experience the immediate consequence of Arjuna’s retaliatory wrath.