Shloka 1
अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana
ऑपन--माजल बछ। जि तृतीयो<थध्याय: कर्णके मारे जानेपर पाण्डवोंके भयसे कौरव-सेनाका पलायन, सामना करनेवाले पचीस हजार पैदलोंका भीमसेनद्वारा वध तथा दुर्योधनका अपने सैनिकोंको समझा-बुझाकर पुन: पाण्डवोंके साथ युद्धमें लगाना संजय उवाच शृणु राजन्नवहितो यथावृत्तो महान् क्षय: । कुरूणां पाण्डवानां च समासाद्य परस्परम्,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! कौरवों और पाण्डवोंके आपसमें भिड़नेसे जिस प्रकार महान् जनसंहार हुआ है, वह सब सावधान होकर सुनिये
sañjaya uvāca | śṛṇu rājann avahito yathāvṛtto mahān kṣayaḥ | kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca samāsādya parasparam ||
Sanjaya said: “O King, listen with full attention to how the great destruction occurred when the Kurus and the Pandavas closed upon one another in battle. I shall relate what happened as it truly unfolded.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a morally weighty catastrophe (mahān kṣayaḥ) and urges attentive listening to truthful narration (yathāvṛttaḥ). It highlights the ethical gravity of mutual aggression and the importance of sober reflection on the consequences of adharma-driven conflict.
Sanjaya begins his report to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, introducing the account of the immense slaughter that occurred when the Kuru and Pandava forces met directly in battle, and he signals that he will recount events exactly as they happened.