पिता मम यथा क्षुद्रैर् न्यस्तशस्त्रो निपातितः ॥
धर्मध्वजवता पापं कृतं तद् विदितं मम ॥
अनार्यं सुनृशंसस्य धर्मपुत्रस्य मे श्रुतम् ॥
युद्धेष्व् अपि प्रवृत्तानां ध्रुवौ जयपराजयौ ॥
द्वयम् एतद् भवेद् राजन् वधस् तत्र प्रशस्यते ॥
न्यायवृत्तो वधो यस् तु संग्रामे युध्यतो भवेत् ॥
न स दुःखाय भवति तथा दृष्टो हि स द्विजः ॥
pitā mama yathā kṣudrair nyastaśastro nipātitaḥ ||
dharmadhvajavatā pāpaṃ kṛtaṃ tad viditaṃ mama ||
anāryaṃ sunṛśaṃsasya dharmaputrasya me śrutam ||
yuddheṣv api pravṛttānāṃ dhruvau jayaparājayau ||
dvayam etad bhaved rājan vadhas tatra praśasyate ||
nyāyavṛtto vadho yas tu saṃgrāme yudhyato bhavet ||
na sa duḥkhāya bhavati tathā dṛṣṭo hi sa dvijaḥ ||
"As my father, having laid down his weapon, was struck down by base men — a sin was committed by that bearer of dharma's banner, that is known to me; I have heard of an ignoble deed of the most cruel son of Dharma. Even for those who engage in battles, victory and defeat are certain — this twofold thing occurs, O king; death there, in fair fight, is praised. But death that occurs by right conduct, that comes in battle with one who is fighting — that is no cause for grief; thus would that twice-born one have been regarded, had he fallen in fair combat."
ba245434adf3 · प्रकाशित 19 जुल॰ 2026, 5:08:17 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Ashvatthaman does not reject his father's death in battle as such — he grants that the death of one fighting by the rules is no cause for grief. It is telling that the point of his accusation is not the killing but the dishonor of the means: a "hypocrite of dharma" struck down an unarmed man. The verse teaches that in the ethics of war what matters is not victory itself but righteousness in the path to it; and the bitterest wound is not the loss but the desecration of honor — for an honorable death is worthy, but a dishonorable one wounds both the fallen and the living.