Shloka 2
वासवी-शक्तेः प्रयोगः, घटोत्कच-वधोत्तर-शोकः, व्यासोपदेशश्च
The Vāsavī Spear’s Use, Post-Ghaṭotkaca Grief, and Vyāsa’s Counsel
क्षत्रधर्म: पुरा दृष्टो यस्तु देवैर्महात्मभि: । त॑ त्वं सात्वत संत्यज्य दस्युधर्मे कथं रत:,'सात्वत! पूर्वकालमें महात्माओं तथा देवताओंने जिस क्षत्रियधर्मका साक्षात्कार किया है, उसे छोड़कर तुम लुटेरोंके धर्ममें कैसे प्रवृत्त हो गये?
kṣatradharmaḥ purā dṛṣṭo yas tu devair mahātmabhiḥ | taṃ tvaṃ sātvata saṃtyajya dasyudharme kathaṃ rataḥ ||
“O Sātvata, how can you abandon the ancient kṣatriya dharma—once beheld and upheld by the gods and great-souled sages—and take delight in the way of the dāsus, in predatory and lawless conduct?”
सयजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts kṣatriya-dharma—disciplined, protective, and rule-bound conduct sanctioned by divine and noble authority—with dasyu-dharma, the predatory ethos of outlaws. It frames abandoning righteous duty for opportunistic violence as a moral fall.
Sañjaya addresses “Sātvata” (commonly Kṛṣṇa) in a reproachful tone, questioning how he could forsake the venerable warrior ethic recognized by gods and great souls and instead act in a manner likened to robbers—implying conduct seen as irregular, deceptive, or outside accepted norms of battle.