Shloka 423
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
मुज्चन् क्रोधविषं तीक्ष्णं प्रस्थलाधिपतिं प्रति । तत्पश्चात् पार्थ अपने दीर्घकालसे संचित किये हुए तीखे क्रोधरूपी विषको प्रस्थलेश्वर सुशर्मापर छोड़नेके लिये तीव्र गतिसे आगे बढ़े
muñcan krodhaviṣaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ prasthalādhipatiṃ prati | tatpaścāt pārthaḥ apane dīrghakālase sañcita kiye hue tīkṣṇa krodharūpī viṣako prasthaleśvara suśarmāpar choṛne ke liye tīvra gatisē āge baḍhe |
Sanjaya thưa: Trút cơn thịnh nộ sắc bén như độc dược về phía chúa tể Prasthala, Partha (Arjuna) liền lao vút lên với tốc độ dữ dội, quyết đem đổ lên Susharma—vua Prasthala—thứ “độc” của cơn giận hung bạo mà chàng đã kìm nén tích tụ từ lâu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the metaphor of 'anger as poison' to highlight its corrosive nature: wrath can be stored, intensified, and then deliberately released. In the ethical frame of the epic, even when violence is sanctioned by war-duty, the text warns that actions driven by long-harbored rage risk becoming vengeance rather than disciplined dharma.
Sanjaya narrates that Arjuna (Partha) advances rapidly toward Susharma, the ruler of Prasthala, intending to unleash upon him the fierce anger he has long contained—signaling an imminent confrontation and a decisive turn in their battlefield encounter.