Shloka 16
Droṇa Interdicts Sātyaki; Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and Duel with Kṛtavarmā (द्रोण-निवारणम्, सात्यकि-प्रवेशः, कृतवर्म-युद्धम्)
तेषां तत् तादृशं कर्म त्वामासाद्य सुनिष्फलम् | यत् पित्र्याद् भ्रंशिता राज्यात् त्वयेहामिषगृद्धिना
teṣāṃ tat tādṛśaṃ karma tvām āsādya suniṣphalam | yat pitryād bhraṃśitā rāj्यāt tvayehāmiṣagṛddhinā ||
Sañjaya said: “All that kind of effort of theirs has proved utterly fruitless upon reaching you—because, driven here by greed for gain, you have caused them to fall away from their ancestral kingdom.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns actions motivated by āmiṣa (self-serving gain): greed can nullify others’ rightful efforts and lead to the unjust deprivation of inherited rights, making one morally responsible for the collapse of dharmic order.
Sañjaya addresses a person he blames for covetousness, stating that the efforts of certain people have become futile because that person’s greed has caused them to be deprived of their ancestral kingdom.