Shloka 6
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
अवश्यं तु मया वाच्यं॑ बुद्ध्यता त्वद्धिताहितम् । विशेषतो रथस्थेन राज्ञश्नैव हितैषिणा,मैं राजा दुर्योधनका हितैषी हूँ और विशेषतः रथपर सारथि बनकर बैठा हूँ; इसलिये तुम्हारे हिताहितको जानते हुए मेरा आवश्यक कर्तव्य है कि तुम्हें वह सब बता दूँ
avaśyaṁ tu mayā vācyaṁ buddhyatā tvad-hitāhitam | viśeṣato ratha-sthena rājñaś caiva hitaiṣiṇā ||
Sañjaya said: “I must speak—using clear discernment—of what is truly for your good and what is not. All the more so because, standing upon the chariot as the king’s charioteer and well-wisher, it is my bounden duty to tell you plainly what serves your welfare and what leads to harm.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A well-wisher must speak truthfully about benefit and harm (hita–ahita), guided by discernment (buddhi), especially when entrusted with responsibility near power—such as a charioteer-counselor to a king.
Sañjaya, positioned as Duryodhana’s charioteer and loyal adviser, prefaces his counsel by asserting his duty to state plainly what will help or harm the king, setting an ethical frame for the advice that follows amid the pressures of war.