Shloka 3
अध्याय २३ — संजयस्योपप्लव्यगमनम् तथा युधिष्ठिरकुशलप्रश्नाः
Sanjaya’s Arrival at Upaplavya and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Welfare Inquiries
यद् युष्माकं वर्तते सौनधर्म्य- मद्रग्धेषु द्रग्धवत् तन्न साधु । मित्रध्रुक् स्याद् धृतराष्ट्र: सपुत्रो युष्मान् द्विषन् साधुवृत्तानसाधु:
yad yuṣmākaṁ vartate saunadharmya-
adragdheṣu dragdhavat tan na sādhu |
mitradhruk syād dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ saputro
yuṣmān dviṣan sādhuvṛttān asādhuḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Saunadharmya, die Art, wie eure Partei handelt — die Unverbrannten zu behandeln, als wären sie bereits verbrannt — ist nicht recht. Dhṛtarāṣṭra würde mitsamt seinen Söhnen zum Verräter an Freunden werden: Euch, die ihr rechtschaffen lebt, hassend, würde er sich schändlich verhalten.“
सयजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns unethical political behavior—treating the innocent or unvanquished as already destroyed—and warns that such conduct turns a ruler into a 'mitradhruk' (betrayer of friends), especially when hostility is directed against the righteous.
Sañjaya addresses Saunadharmya and criticizes the stance/behavior of the Kuru side, warning that Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his sons, by hating those who uphold good conduct, are acting improperly and undermining alliances and moral order.