न ऋते नायकं सेना मुहूर्तम् अपि तिष्ठति ॥
आहवेष्व् आहवश्रेष्ठ नेतृहीनेव नौर् जले ॥
यथा ह्य् अकर्णधारा नौ रथश् चासारथिर् यथा ॥
द्रवेद् यथेष्टं तद्वत् स्याद् ऋते सेनापतिं बलम् ॥
na ṛte nāyakaṃ senā muhūrtam api tiṣṭhati ||
āhaveṣv āhavaśreṣṭha netṛhīneva naur jale ||
yathā hy akarṇadhārā nau rathaś cāsārathir yathā ||
draved yatheṣṭaṃ tadvat syād ṛte senāpatiṃ balam ||
[Duryodhana:] An army without a leader will not hold its ground in battles even for a moment, O foremost in battle — like a boat without a pilot upon the water. Just as a boat without a steersman, or a chariot without a charioteer, would career off wherever it pleased, so too would the army become without a commander.
5b833585da8c · publicado 19 jul 2026, 14:46:26 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The images of a boat without a helmsman and a chariot without a driver bear a simple truth: a multitude needs a single guiding mind, or its strength turns to chaos. Here lies a truth about every order of things: without a head and unified guidance, even a great gathering of forces is helpless. But the story has already shown the reverse side of this: if all guidance is concentrated in a single mortal, then with his fall the ship again loses its rudder. The verse teaches that order and unified guidance are necessary for every common undertaking; and, at the same time, that wise order does not entrust the rudder to one man alone, but grounds itself on dharma, which does not fall as a helmsman falls.