Shloka 263
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
स पथ: प्रच्युतो धर्माद् विपदं प्रतिपद्यते । “मानव-कर्म (पुरुषार्थ)-को दैवसे बढ़कर नहीं बताया गया है। पुरुषार्थ करते समय यदि दैववश सिद्धि नहीं प्राप्त हुई तो मनुष्य धर्ममार्गसे भ्रष्ट होकर विपत्तिमें फँस जाता है
sa panthāḥ pracyuto dharmād vipadaṃ pratipadyate |
Sañjaya said: When a man slips from the path of dharma, he falls into calamity. Even though human effort (puruṣārtha) is praised, if success does not come due to fate, a person—losing steadiness in righteous conduct—may stray from the moral way and become trapped in misfortune.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that abandoning dharma is itself the doorway to disaster: when success is obstructed (even by fate), losing moral discipline and turning away from righteous conduct leads directly to misfortune.
Sañjaya offers a reflective, ethical observation within the Sauptika Parva’s grim aftermath, framing the unfolding suffering as connected to deviation from dharma and the moral instability that can arise when efforts fail.