Shloka 31
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
पश्य नागोत्तमसुते भर्तारें निहतं मया । कृतं॑ प्रियं मया तेडद्य निहत्य समरेडर्जुनम्
paśya nāgottamasute bhartāraṁ nihataṁ mayā | kṛtaṁ priyaṁ mayā te 'dya nihatya samare 'rjunam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Look, O daughter of the foremost of Nāgas: I have slain your husband. Perhaps today, by killing Arjuna in battle, I have done what is dear to you.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between personal vengeance and righteous conduct: a killing is framed as a ‘pleasing’ act for another’s grief, exposing how war can turn justice into taunt and satisfaction into ethical ambiguity.
A speaker addresses a Nāga princess, pointing to her husband’s death and claiming that by killing Arjuna in battle he has likely fulfilled something she desired—suggesting a context of retaliation and emotionally charged battlefield speech.