पितृहन्तृनहं हत्वा पज्चालान् निशि सौप्तिके । काम॑ कीट: पतड़ो वा जन्म प्राप्प भवामि वै
pitṛhantṝn ahaṃ hatvā pāñcālān niśi sauptike | kāmaṃ kīṭaḥ pataṅgo vā janma prāpya bhavāmi vai ||
克利波说道:“我在夜里趁般遮罗人熟睡之时将他们诛杀——他们杀了我的父亲——无论随后降临何种报应,我都甘受。纵使来世要化作蠕虫或飞蛾,也任凭如此。”
कृप उवाच
The verse highlights the tension between personal vengeance and ethical restraint: Kṛpa frames the killing as retribution for his father’s death and declares willingness to bear severe karmic fallout (even a low rebirth), underscoring how revenge can override concern for moral consequence while still acknowledging that consequence exists.
In the Sauptika episode, the surviving Kaurava-side warriors contemplate or justify a nocturnal attack on the sleeping Pāñcālas. Here Kṛpa states that killing them in their sleep—because they are ‘father-slayers’—is worth any personal afterlife penalty.