Shloka 11
द्रौणि-पार्षतयोर्युद्धम् | The Duel of Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi) and Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata
निकृत्या निकृतिप्रज्ञो राज्यं हृत्वा महात्मनाम् | जितमित्येव मन्वान: पाण्डवानवमन्यते,वह छल-कपटकी विद्याको जानता है। अतः छलसे ही उन महामनस्वी पाण्डवोंके राज्यका अपहरण करके उसे जीता हुआ मानकर पाण्डवोंका अपमान करता है
nikṛtyā nikṛtiprajño rājyaṁ hṛtvā mahātmanām | jitam ity eva manvānaḥ pāṇḍavān avamanyate ||
Sañjaya said: Skilled in deceit, with a mind trained in crooked stratagems, he stole the kingdom from those great-souled men. Then, imagining it a true victory, he goes on to slight and dishonor the Pāṇḍavas—an ethical indictment of triumph won by fraud rather than by dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory obtained through छल (deceit) is ethically hollow: seizing a rightful kingdom by fraud and then treating it as a legitimate conquest leads to arrogance and contempt, marking a fall from dharma.
Sañjaya characterizes the opponent as crafty and deceit-driven, describing how the Pāṇḍavas’ kingdom was taken by trickery and how, believing that theft to be ‘victory,’ he now insults the Pāṇḍavas.