धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
बहूनीह विचित्राणि द्वैरथानि स्म संजय ॥
पाण्डूनां मामकैः सार्धम् अश्रौषं तव जल्पतः ॥
न चैव मामकं कं चिद् धृष्टं शंससि संजय ॥
नित्यं पाण्डुसुतान् हृष्टान् अभग्नांश् चैव शंससि ॥
जीयमानान् विमनसो मामकान् विगतौजसः ॥
वदसे संयुगे सूत दिष्टम् एतद् असंशयम् ॥
संजय उवाच
यथाशक्ति यथोत्साहं युद्धे चेष्टन्ति तावकाः ॥
दर्शयानाः परं शक्त्या पौरुषं पुरुषर्षभ ॥
गङ्गायाः सुरनद्या वै स्वादुभूतं यथोदकम् ॥
महोदधिगुणाभ्यासाल् लवणत्वं निगच्छति ॥
तथा तत् पौरुषं राजंस् तावकानां महात्मनाम् ॥
प्राप्य पाण्डुसुतान् वीरान् व्यर्थं भवति संयुगे ॥
घटमानान् यथाशक्ति कुर्वाणान् कर्म दुष्करम् ॥
न दोषेण कुरुश्रेष्ठ कौरवान् गन्तुम् अर्हसि ॥
तवापराधात् सुमहान् सपुत्रस्य विशां पते ॥
पृथिव्याः प्रक्षयो घोरो यमराष्ट्रविवर्धनः ॥
आत्मदोषात् समुत्पन्नं शोचितुं नार्हसे नृप ॥
न हि रक्षन्ति राजानः सर्वार्थान् नापि जीवितम् ॥
युद्धे सुकृतिनां लोकान् इच्छन्तो वसुधाधिपाः ॥
चमूं विगाह्य युध्यन्ते नित्यं स्वर्गपरायणाः ॥
पूर्वाह्णे तु महाराज प्रावर्तत जनक्षयः ॥
तन् ममैकमना भूत्वा शृणु देवासुरोपमम् ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
bahūnīha vicitrāṇi dvairathāni sma saṃjaya ||
pāṇḍūnāṃ māmakaiḥ sārdham aśrauṣaṃ tava jalpataḥ ||
na caiva māmakaṃ kaṃ cid dhṛṣṭaṃ śaṃsasi saṃjaya ||
nityaṃ pāṇḍusutān hṛṣṭān abhagnāṃś caiva śaṃsasi ||
jīyamānān vimanaso māmakān vigataujasaḥ ||
vadase saṃyuge sūta diṣṭam etad asaṃśayam ||
saṃjaya uvāca
yathāśakti yathotsāhaṃ yuddhe ceṣṭanti tāvakāḥ ||
darśayānāḥ paraṃ śaktyā pauruṣaṃ puruṣarṣabha ||
gaṅgāyāḥ suranadyā vai svādubhūtaṃ yathodakam ||
mahodadhiguṇābhyāsāl lavaṇatvaṃ nigacchati ||
tathā tat pauruṣaṃ rājaṃs tāvakānāṃ mahātmanām ||
prāpya pāṇḍusutān vīrān vyarthaṃ bhavati saṃyuge ||
ghaṭamānān yathāśakti kurvāṇān karma duṣkaram ||
na doṣeṇa kuruśreṣṭha kauravān gantum arhasi ||
tavāparādhāt sumahān saputrasya viśāṃ pate ||
pṛthivyāḥ prakṣayo ghoro yamarāṣṭravivardhanaḥ ||
ātmadoṣāt samutpannaṃ śocituṃ nārhase nṛpa ||
na hi rakṣanti rājānaḥ sarvārthān nāpi jīvitam ||
yuddhe sukṛtināṃ lokān icchanto vasudhādhipāḥ ||
camūṃ vigāhya yudhyante nityaṃ svargaparāyaṇāḥ ||
pūrvāhṇe tu mahārāja prāvartata janakṣayaḥ ||
tan mamaikamanā bhūtvā śṛṇu devāsuropamam ||
Dhritarashtra said: "Sanjaya, I have heard from your account of many wondrous chariot duels between the sons of Pandu and mine. But you never call any of mine bold, Sanjaya; you constantly say that the sons of Pandu are joyful and unbroken. Of my own warriors, O suta, you speak as though they were defeated, dejected, and bereft of strength in battle. Surely this is fate." Sanjaya said: "Your warriors strive in battle according to their strength and zeal, O bull among men, showing the utmost valor. But just as the sweet water of the Ganges, the divine river, turns salty on contact with the qualities of the great ocean, so too the valor of your noble-hearted warriors, upon meeting the valiant sons of Pandu, becomes fruitless in battle. They strive according to their strength and perform a difficult task; therefore, best of the Kurus, you should not hold the Kauravas to blame. Through your transgression, lord of men, and that of your son, has arisen this vast and dreadful destruction of the earth, swelling the realm of Yama. What has arisen from one's own fault, O king, is not fitting to lament. Kings, desiring in battle the worlds of the righteous heroes, spare neither all their advantages nor even their lives: they plunge into the army and fight, ever bent on heaven. In the morning, great king, the slaughter of men began; listen to me now with a focused mind about a battle resembling that of the gods and the asuras."
8c1ae0c104c7 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:38:21 PM UTC
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Sanjaya again refuses to let Dhritarashtra hide behind the word "fate." The Kaurava warriors are brave, but the war itself grew out of the king's own error and that of his son; so even real valor does not erase the moral cause of defeat.