Shloka 56
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
शिरश्न राजसिंहस्य पादेन समलोडयत् | ऐसा कहकर भीमसेनने अपने बायें पैरसे उसके मुकुटको ठुकराया और उस राजसिंहके मस्तकपर भी पैरसे ठोकर मारा
śiraś ca rājasiṃhasya pādena samaloḍayat |
三阇耶说道：毗摩塞那说罢此言，便以左足踢落其王冠，继而又以足踹击那位“诸王之狮”的头颅。此举凸显战场复仇的残酷终局：愤怒与报应压倒了对阵亡武士本应守持的礼敬。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how vengeance and fury in war can lead to acts that violate the ideal kṣatriya ethic of restraint and respect toward a defeated foe, inviting reflection on the moral costs of hatred even amid ‘just’ warfare.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, after speaking, uses his left foot to knock away the fallen warrior’s crown and then kicks his head—an emphatic gesture of contempt and triumph at a climactic moment of the conflict.