Shloka 86

Duryodhana-vadha-pratikriyā: Harṣa, Nindā, and Kṛṣṇa’s Nīti-vyākhyā (Śalya-parva 60)

Devanagari script

आश्रितस्य तु दौर्बल्यादाश्रय: परिभर्त्स्यते । महाराज! फिर बलदेवजीने कहा--“श्रीकृष्ण! राजा दुर्योधन मेरे समान बलवान था। गदायुद्धमें उसकी समानता करनेवाला कोई नहीं था। यहाँ अन्याय करके केवल दुर्योधन ही नहीं गिराया गया है, (मेरा भी अपमान किया गया है) शरणागतकी दुर्बलताके कारण शरण देनेवालेका तिरस्कार किया जा रहा है'

Transliteration

āśritasya tu daurbalyād āśrayaḥ paribhartsyate | mahārāja |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O great king, because of the weakness of one who has sought refuge, the very protector who grants that refuge is being reviled.” The line voices a moral protest: when a dependent is harmed or humiliated, the dishonor rebounds upon the one who stood as their support, making the ethics of protection and loyalty a matter for all to see.

Word by Word

• {'āśritasya': 'of one who has taken shelter

• of a dependent/protégé', 'tu': 'but

• indeed (emphatic particle)', 'daurbalyāt': 'because of weakness, infirmity, helplessness', 'āśrayaḥ': 'shelter, support

• protector, patron', 'paribhartsyate': 'will be censured/reproached/insulted

• will be treated with contempt', 'mahārāja': 'O great king (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic principle: the protector (āśraya) bears moral and reputational responsibility for the fate of the one who depends on him (āśrita). If the dependent is brought low due to helplessness, the protector is blamed—implying that true protection must include safeguarding honor and fair treatment, not merely offering nominal shelter.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports a charged moral complaint addressed to the king: the humiliation or defeat of a sheltered party is being used to reproach the very patron who supported him. In the Shalya Parva context, this functions as commentary on contested fairness and honor in the climactic combats, where outcomes are judged not only by victory but by the ethics of how victory is obtained.