Shloka 56
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
ब्राहे बले भवान् युक्त: स्वाध्याये यज्ञकर्मणि । मा सम युद्ध्यस्व कौन्तेय मा सम वीरान् समासद:
brāhma-bale bhavān yuktaḥ svādhyāye yajña-karmaṇi | mā sma yuddhyasva kaunteya mā sma vīrān samāsadaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “O son of Kunti, you are suited to the power of Brahminical discipline—study of the Veda and the performance of sacrificial rites. Therefore do not engage in battle, and do not present yourself before warriors.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts roles and competencies: one grounded in Brahminical discipline (Vedic study and sacrificial duty) is advised not to take up the warrior’s work of battle or to confront heroes—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring concern with svadharma (one’s proper duty) and the ethical peril of acting outside it.
Sañjaya reports a statement addressed to a ‘Kaunteya’ (a son of Kuntī), in which the addressee is discouraged from fighting and from approaching warriors, being characterized instead as skilled in Vedic study and sacrificial rites—an admonitory moment framed as counsel amid the war narrative of the Karṇa Parva.