Shloka 12
Aśvatthāmā’s Buddhi-Doctrine and Nocturnal Incursion Resolve (अश्वत्थाम्नः बुद्धिविचारः सौप्तिकसंकल्पश्च)
व्यसनं वा महाघोरं समृद्धि चापि तादृशीम् । अवाप्य पुरुषो भोज कुरुते बुद्धिवैकृतम्,'भोज-]! मनुष्य जब किसी अत्यन्त घोर संकटमें पड़ जाता है अथवा उसे किसी महान् ऐश्वर्यकी प्राप्ति हो जाती है, तब उस संकट और समृद्धिको पाकर उसकी बुद्धिमें क्रमशः शोक एवं हर्षरूपी विकार उत्पन्न हो जाते हैं
vyasanaṃ vā mahāghoraṃ samṛddhiṃ cāpi tādṛśīm | avāpya puruṣo bhoja kurute buddhivaikṛtam ||
Sañjaya said: “O Bhoja, when a man falls into an exceedingly dreadful calamity, or when he attains a similarly great prosperity, then—upon encountering that distress or that success—his understanding becomes distorted: sorrow arises in the wake of calamity, and joy arises in the wake of prosperity.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extreme misfortune and extreme prosperity both disturb discernment: calamity tends to generate grief and prosperity tends to generate elation, and these emotional surges can warp judgment.
Sañjaya addresses “Bhoja” and comments on how human intellect becomes unsettled when confronted with severe crisis or great success—an observation that frames the emotional and moral turbulence surrounding the events of the Sauptika Parva.