Shloka 10
सहदेव-दक्षिण-दिग्विजयः — Sahadeva’s Southern Conquest and the Māhiṣmatī–Agni Encounter
इदं पुरं यः प्रविशेद् ध्रुवं न स भवेन्नर: । प्रीयामहे त्वया वीर पर्याप्तो विजयस्तव,'पार्थ! इस नगरको तुम किसी तरह जीत नहीं सकते। कल्याणस्वरूप अर्जुन! यहाँसे लौट जाओ। अच्युत! तुम यहाँतक आ गये, यही बहुत हुआ। जो मनुष्य इस नगरमें प्रवेश करता है, निश्चय ही उसकी मृत्यु हो जाती है। वीर! हम तुमसे बहुत प्रसन्न हैं। यहाँतक आ पहुँचना ही तुम्हारी बहुत बड़ी विजय है
idam puraṁ yaḥ praviśed dhruvaṁ na sa bhaven naraḥ | prīyāmahe tvayā vīra paryāpto vijayas tava ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Whoever enters this city does not remain alive—his death is certain. O hero, we are pleased with you; this much itself is enough. Your very arrival here is victory enough.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights prudent restraint: when an action is known to lead to certain destruction, true valor may lie in withdrawing rather than pursuing a reckless ‘victory.’ It reframes success as knowing limits and honoring wise counsel.
A warning is issued about a perilous city: anyone who enters is fated to die. The speaker praises the hero’s effort and urges him to stop there, treating the mere reaching of the place as an adequate triumph and advising a return instead of a fatal advance.