तथा ब्रुवन्ती करुणं सुमध्यमा; काक्षेण भर्तॄन् कुपितान् अपश्यत् ॥
सा पाण्डवान् कोपपरीतदेहान्; संदीपयाम् आस कटाक्षपातैः ॥
हृतेन राज्येन तथा धनेन; रत्नैश् च मुख्यैर् न तथा बभूव ॥
यथार्तया कोपसमीरितेन; कृष्णाकटाक्षेण बभूव दुःखम् ॥
दुःशासनश् चापि समीक्ष्य कृष्णाम्; अवेक्षमाणां कृपणान् पतींस् तान् ॥
आधूय वेगेन विसंज्ञकल्पाम्; उवाच दासीति हसन्न् इवोग्रः ॥
tathā bruvantī karuṇaṃ sumadhyamā; kākṣeṇa bhartṝn kupitān apaśyat ||
sā pāṇḍavān kopaparītadehān; saṃdīpayām āsa kaṭākṣapātaiḥ ||
hṛtena rājyena tathā dhanena; ratnaiś ca mukhyair na tathā babhūva ||
yathārtayā kopasamīritena; kṛṣṇākaṭākṣeṇa babhūva duḥkham ||
duḥśāsanaś cāpi samīkṣya kṛṣṇām; avekṣamāṇāṃ kṛpaṇān patīṃs tān ||
ādhūya vegena visaṃjñakalpām; uvāca dāsīti hasann ivograḥ ||
So speaking plaintively, the slender-waisted one cast a sidelong glance at her enraged husbands; and she kindled the Pandavas, their bodies overcome with wrath, with the falling glances of her sidelong looks. Not so great was the grief caused by their kingdom taken away, nor by their wealth and chief jewels, as the grief that arose from the anguished, wrath-stirred sidelong glance of Krishna. And Duhshasana, seeing Krishna gazing upon her wretched husbands, [her,] shaken violently, nearly senseless, said, laughing like a savage beast: "Slave woman!"
90c2b0fd84c1 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:37 PM UTC
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A single glance of the suffering Krishna burns the Pandavas more than the loss of their kingdom. It is telling that it was not the loss of wealth but the violation of their wife that kindled them: honor is dearer than possessions. The verse teaches the true measure of values: property can be borne, but the insult of a defenseless woman cannot. And in this glance there is no call to vengeance but a mute anguish more terrible than any call — the helplessness to protect what is dear burns the noble unbearably. Duhshasana, meanwhile, laughing, repeats "slave woman" — reveling in the violation. Thus two natures stand revealed against each other: one suffers for violated honor, the other delights in the violation. And Krishna's glance, kindling the wrath of the righteous, is the spark of the retribution to come.