"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding Duryodhana felled upon the earth like a gigantic Sala uprooted (by the tempest) the Pandavas became filled with joy. The Somakas also beheld, with hair standing on end, the Kuru king felled upon the earth like an infuriated elephant felled by a lion. Having struck Duryodhana down, the valiant Bhimasena, approaching the Kuru chief, addressed him, saying, "O wretch, formerly laughing at the disrobed Draupadi in the midst of the assembly, thou hadst, O fool, addressed us as 'Cow, Cow!' Bear now the fruit of that insult!" Having said these words, he touched the head of his fallen foe with his left foot. Indeed, he struck the head of that lion among kings with his foot. With eyes red in wrath, Bhimasena, that grinder of hostile armies, once more said these words. Listen to them, O monarch! "They that danced at us insultingly, saying, 'Cow, Cow!' we shall now dance at them, uttering the same words, 'Cow, Cow!' We have no guile, no fire, no match, at dice, no deception! Depending upon the might of our own arms we resist and check our foes!" Having attained to the other shores of those fierce hostilities, Vrikodara once more laughingly said these words slowly unto Yudhishthira and Keshava and Srinjaya and Dhananjaya and the two sons of Madri, "They that had dragged Draupadi, while ill, into the assembly and had disrobed her there, behold those Dhartarashtras slain in battle by the Pandavas through the ascetic penances of Yajnasena's daughter! Those wicked-hearted sons of king Dhritarashtra who had called us 'Sesame seeds without kernel,' have all been slain by us with their relatives and followers! It matters little whether (as a consequence of those deeds) we go to heaven or fall into hell!" Once more, uplifting the mace that lay on his shoulders, he struck with his left foot the head of the monarch who was prostrate on the earth, and addressing the deceitful Duryodhana, said these words.Mbh 9.59.1a · Mahabharata · Shalya-parva
Mbh 9.59.1a
Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Themes in this passage
SpeechChildrenKarmaLeadershipNatureWarAngerCourage
Speech in other traditions
The same theme, as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Taoism address it.
Beware of the anger of the tongue, and control thy tongue! Leave the sins of the tongue, and practise virtue with thy tongue!Dhp 17.232 · Dhammapada · Anger
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.1 Corinthians 14:2 · Bible · 1 Corinthians
O ye who believe! Guard your duty to Allah, and speak words straight to the point;Quran 33:70 · Quran · The Allies
He who knows (the Tao) does not (care to) speak (about it); he who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it.Tao Te Ching 56.1 · Tao Te Ching
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