Shloka 24

कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः

Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

आपदगतं कश्चन यो विमोक्षेत्‌ स बान्धव: स्नेहयुक्त: सुहृच्च | एवं पुराणा मुनयो वदन्ति धर्म: सदा सद्धिरनुछितश्व॒

Transliteration

āpada-gataṁ kaścana yo vimokṣet sa bāndhavaḥ sneha-yuktaḥ suhṛt ca | evaṁ purāṇā munayo vadanti dharmaḥ sadā sadbhir anuṣṭhitaś ca ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Whoever rescues a person fallen into calamity—he alone is truly a kinsman, truly affectionate, truly a well-wisher. Thus the ancient sages declare. This is a dharma that the good have practiced from time immemorial.”

Word by Word

• {'āpada (आपद्)': 'calamity, distress, crisis', 'āpada-gata (आपदगत)': 'one who has fallen into distress', 'kaścana (कश्चन)': 'someone, any person', 'yaḥ (यः)': 'who', 'vimokṣet (विमोक्षेत्)': 'should free, should rescue, should deliver', 'sa (स)': 'he, that person', 'bāndhavaḥ (बान्धवः)': 'kinsman, true relative (in the ethical sense)', 'sneha-yuktaḥ (स्नेहयुक्तः)': 'endowed with affection, loving', 'suhṛt (सुहृत्)': 'friend, well-wisher, benevolent ally', 'evaṁ (एवं)': 'thus', 'purāṇāḥ (पुराणाः)': 'ancient, of old', 'munayaḥ (मुनयः)': 'sages, seers', 'vadanti (वदन्ति)': 'say, declare', 'dharmaḥ (धर्मः)': 'righteous duty, moral law, right conduct', 'sadā (सदा)': 'always', 'sadbhis (सद्भिः)': 'by the good, by virtuous people', 'anuṣṭhitaḥ (अनुष्ठितः)': 'practiced, observed, carried out', 'ca (च)': 'and'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• munayaḥ (ancient sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True kinship and friendship are proven by action: the person who delivers another from danger is the real bāndhava (kinsman) and suhṛt (well-wisher). This is presented as an ancient, enduring standard of dharma upheld by the virtuous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a moral maxim within the war narrative, grounding the discussion in traditional authority (“the ancient sages say”). He frames rescue and protection in times of crisis as a timeless duty, implicitly evaluating relationships by conduct rather than mere blood or alliance.