Shloka 57
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
मा चैतानप्रियं ब्रूहि मा वै ब्रज महारणम् । वक्तव्या मारिषान्ये तु न वक्तव्यास्तु मादूशा:
mā caitānpriyaṃ brūhi mā vai braja mahāraṇam | vaktavyā māriṣānye tu na vaktavyāstu mādṛśāḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “Do not speak these pleasing words to me; do not go into that great battle. Others—venerable elders and worthier men—may be fit to speak such counsel, but people like me are not fit to speak it.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint and humility: not everyone is entitled or qualified to give decisive counsel in grave matters like war; one should recognize proper authority and one’s own limits.
Sañjaya speaks to someone about the impending great battle, urging that he not be addressed with merely pleasing words and that he not proceed into the battle; he adds that such admonition properly belongs to respected elders, not to someone like himself.