Shloka 12
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
पुनश्च राज्ञ: पतितस्य भूमौ सतां गदां स्कन्धगतां प्रगृहा । वामेन पादेन शिर: प्रमृद्य दुर्योधनं नैकृतिकं न्यवोचत्
punaś ca rājñaḥ patitasya bhūmau satāṃ gadāṃ skandhagatāṃ pragṛhya | vāmena pādena śiraḥ pramṛdya duryodhanaṃ naikṛtikaṃ nyavocat ||
三阇耶说道：随后，他又拾起那靠在倒地之王肩旁的铁杵，以左足踏压都利约陀那之首，斥之为狡诈奸伪之徒。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how victory in war can slide into humiliation and moral condemnation. By calling Duryodhana “naikṛtika” (treacherous), the speaker frames the enemy’s downfall as ethically deserved, yet the act of trampling the head also invites reflection on restraint and propriety (dharma) even toward a defeated foe.
Sañjaya narrates that after Duryodhana has fallen, the victor seizes the mace lying against his shoulder and, pressing Duryodhana’s head with the left foot, addresses him with an insult—branding him deceitful and treacherous.