Shloka 14
Chapter 137: Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) Slays Somadatta; Yudhiṣṭhira Redirected from Droṇa
प्रेतराजपुरं प्राप्प निवर्तेतापि मानव:
pretarājapuraṃ prāpya nivartetāpi mānavaḥ
قال دِهْرِتَراشْتْرا: حتى بعد أن يبلغ الإنسان مدينة سيّد الموتى (ياما)، قد يقدر على الرجوع—وفي ذلك دلالة على أن القدر ليس هبوطًا في اتجاه واحد، وأن السعي في الدارما، وضبط النفس، أو القضاء الإلهي قد يقلب حتى ما يبدو نهائيًا.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line suggests that even an apparently irreversible endpoint—death and Yama’s realm—can be spoken of as reversible, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring emphasis on the power of dharma, repentance, restraint, and higher ordinance to alter outcomes that seem fated.
In the Drona Parva setting, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on grim war consequences and the pull of death; the statement functions as a pointed reflection that a person may still ‘turn back’ even after nearing death—underscoring the tension between inevitable destruction and the possibility of reversal through right action or divine will.