Shloka 28
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
यदारभ्य क्रियां काज्चिद् भयादिह निवर्तते । “यदि मनुष्य किसी कार्यको आरम्भ करके यहाँ भयके कारण उससे निवृत्त हो जाता है तो ज्ञानी पुरुष उसकी उस कार्यको करनेकी प्रतिज्ञाको अज्ञान या मूर्खता बताते हैं || २७३ || तदिदं दुष्प्रणीतेन भयं मां समुपस्थितम्,“इस समय अपने ही दुष्कर्मके कारण मुझपर यह भय आ पहुँचा है। द्रोणाचार्यका पुत्र किसी प्रकार भी युद्धसे पीछे नहीं हट सकता; परंतु क्या करूँ, यह महाभूत मेरे मार्ममें विघ्न डालनेके लिये दैवदण्डके समान उठ खड़ा हुआ है
yadārabhya kriyāṃ kāñcid bhayād iha nivartate |
yadi manuṣyaḥ kāryam ārabhya bhayād iha nivartate tu jñāninaḥ puruṣās tasya tasmin kārye kartum pratijñām ajñānaṃ vā mūḍhatāṃ vadanti ||
tad idaṃ duṣpraṇītena bhayaṃ māṃ samupasthitam | droṇācāryasya putro hi kathaṃcid api yuddhāt na nivartitum arhati | kintu kiṃ karomi—idaṃ mahābhūtaṃ mama marmeṣu vighnaṃ kartum daivadaṇḍa iva samutthitam ||
Sañjaya said: “If a man begins some undertaking and then, here and now, withdraws from it out of fear, the wise declare that very resolve to act to be ignorance—indeed, folly. Yet at this moment fear has come upon me, born of my own ill-guided conduct. The son of Droṇa cannot, by any means, turn back from battle; and still—what am I to do? This mighty portent has risen up like a divine rod of punishment, as though to strike at my vital points and obstruct my purpose.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A resolve to act, once undertaken, should not be abandoned merely out of fear; retreat from a begun duty is judged by the wise as ignorance or folly. At the same time, fear can arise as a consequence of one’s own misdirected or wrongful conduct, suggesting an ethical law of repercussions.
Sañjaya reflects on the disgrace of withdrawing from an initiated course of action and then confesses that fear has seized him due to his own ill-guided deeds. He notes that Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman) will not turn back from the violent course he has chosen, yet a formidable portent—likened to a divine punishment—seems to obstruct and threaten at the vital points.