Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अनर्थाश्षार्थरूपेण अर्थाश्षानर्थरूपिण: । उत्तिष्ठन्ति विनाशाय नूनं तच्चास्य रोचते,उस समय उस पुरुषके विनाशके लिये अनर्थ ही अर्थरूपसे और अर्थ भी अनर्थरूपसे उसके सामने उपस्थित होते हैं और निश्चय ही अर्थरूपमें आया हुआ अनर्थ ही उसे अच्छा लगता है

Transliteration

anarthāś cārtharūpeṇa arthāś cānartharūpiṇaḥ | uttiṣṭhanti vināśāya nūnaṃ tac cāsya rocate ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Wenn ein Mensch dem Verderben entgegengeht, treten Unheil und Schaden in der Gestalt von Gewinn vor ihn, und selbst wahrer Gewinn erscheint als Unheil. Und gewiss ist es das Unheil, das im Gewand des „Vorteils“ kommt, das ihm gefällt.

Word by Word

अनर्थाःmisfortunes, harmful things

अर्थरूपेणin the form of benefit/advantage

अर्थाःbenefits, advantageous things

अनर्थरूपिणःhaving the form of harm; appearing as misfortune

उत्तिष्ठन्तिarise, present themselves

विनाशायfor destruction

नूनम्surely, indeed

तत्that (thing)

चand

अस्यof him

रोचतेpleases (him), seems good

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A mind moving toward adharma and ruin loses discernment: it mistakes harmful choices for beneficial ones and even rejects genuine benefit. The verse highlights how ethical collapse first appears as distorted perception—liking what is actually destructive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya comments on the psychological and moral condition of a person (in the Sabha Parva context, the one being drawn into disastrous decisions): signs of impending destruction manifest as seemingly attractive ‘advantages,’ and the person embraces them, accelerating the downfall.