Shloka 273
कि त्वं मूर्ख: प्रसभं मूढचेता ममावोच: पौरुष॑ फाल्गुनस्य । “मैं इस युद्धस्थलमें क्षत्रियोंके समाजमें बड़े हर्ष और उल्लासके साथ पाए्दुपुत्र अर्जुनके उत्साहका वर्णन कर सकता हूँ। तुम्हारे मनमें तो मूढ़ता भरी हुई है। तुम मूर्ख हो। फिर तुमने मुझसे अर्जुनके पुरुषार्थका हठपूर्वक वर्णन क्यों किया है?
ki tvaṁ mūrkhaḥ prasabhaṁ mūḍhacetā mamāvocaḥ pauruṣaṁ phālgunasya |
Sañjaya said: “Why, being a fool and of deluded mind, did you forcefully ask me to speak of Arjuna’s prowess? Here on this battlefield, amid the assembly of kṣatriyas, I can with great joy and exhilaration describe the ardor and heroic energy of Arjuna, Pāṇḍu’s son; yet your mind is filled with folly—so why did you stubbornly demand from me an account of Arjuna’s manliness?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how insistently seeking an account of another’s greatness, while remaining mentally clouded, can be self-defeating: clear understanding and receptivity are prerequisites for counsel; otherwise, truth only intensifies agitation.
Sanjaya rebukes his listener for stubbornly demanding a description of Arjuna’s prowess. He implies that Arjuna’s heroic energy is evident and can be narrated with admiration, but the questioner’s deluded mindset makes the demand irrational and provocative.