Shloka 4
पिता मम यशथा क्षुद्रैर्न्यस्तशस्त्रो निपातित: । धर्मध्वजवता पापं कृतं तद् विदितं मम,“राजन! मेरे पिताने जिस प्रकार हथियार डाल दिया, जिस तरह उन नीचोंने उन्हें मार गिराया तथा धर्मका ढोंग रचनेवाले युधिष्ठिरने जो पाप किया है, वह सब मुझे मालूम हो गया
sañjaya uvāca | pitā mama yathā kṣudrair nyastaśastro nipātitaḥ | dharmadhvajavatā pāpaṃ kṛtaṃ tad viditaṃ mama |
Sañjaya said: “O King, I have come to know everything—how my father, after laying down his weapons, was struck down by those base men, and what sin was committed by Yudhiṣṭhira, who paraded the banner of righteousness.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that can occur in war: even those reputed for dharma may commit wrongdoing, and the killing of a disarmed opponent is portrayed as a grave moral transgression.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa, after laying down his weapons, was brought down by ignoble attackers, and he condemns Yudhiṣṭhira’s role as a ‘dharma-banner’ figure whose action enabled or constituted sin in the events leading to Droṇa’s fall.