Shloka 223
प्रियेभ्य: प्रकृतं साधु को नु स्वन्ततरो मया । “दूसरे राष्ट्रोपर आक्रमण किया और कितने ही राजाओंसे दासकी भाँति सेवाएँ लीं। जो अपने प्रिय व्यक्ति थे
priyebhyaḥ prakṛtaṃ sādhu ko nu svantataro mayā |
Sañjaya said: “I have acted well toward those who were dear to me; who, indeed, could have met a better end than I? Having attacked other kingdoms and compelled many kings to render service like slaves, I still ensured the welfare of my own beloved ones—so what end could be considered superior to mine?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral self-assessment at the end of life: a person may justify harsh political actions (conquest and subjugation) by appealing to loyalty and beneficence toward one’s own loved ones, raising the ethical tension between private virtue and public wrongdoing.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s reflective claim about his life and end: despite having waged aggressive campaigns and forced other rulers into servitude, he asserts that he consistently did good to his own dear ones and therefore considers his end unsurpassed.