Shloka 42
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
रक्ष दुर्योधनात्मानमात्मा सर्वस्य भाजनम् | भिन्ने हि भाजने तात दिशो गच्छति तद्गतम्
sañjaya uvāca | rakṣa duryodhanātmānam ātmā sarvasya bhājanam | bhinne hi bhājane tāta diśo gacchati tadgatam ||
Sañjaya said: “Protect yourself, Duryodhana; for the embodied self—the body—is the vessel of all enjoyments. When a vessel is broken, what it contained runs off in every direction; so too, when the body is destroyed, the pleasures that depend upon it come to an end.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a pragmatic ethic: embodied life is the necessary support (bhājana) for experiencing worldly goods; therefore, self-preservation is urged. The broken-vessel metaphor underscores impermanence—when the body is destroyed, the enjoyments dependent on it disperse and end.
Sañjaya addresses Duryodhana amid the crisis of battle in the Śalya Parva, urging him to safeguard his own person. He frames the counsel through a vivid analogy: just as contents are lost when a pot breaks, so pleasures and supports vanish when the body falls.