Shloka 24
सो<यं मां समनुप्राप्त: प्रत्यक्ष भवतां हि यः । पृथिवीं पालयित्वाहमेतां निष्ठामुपागत:
so ’yaṁ māṁ samanuprāptaḥ pratyakṣaṁ bhavatāṁ hi yaḥ | pṛthivīṁ pālayitvāham etāṁ niṣṭhām upāgataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “This very hour of ruin has come upon me as well—something you can plainly see with your own eyes. Once I governed and protected the whole earth; today I have been brought to this final condition.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly power: even one who once protected and ruled the earth can swiftly be reduced to a helpless end-state. It invites ethical reflection on humility, detachment, and the limits of sovereignty amid the devastation of war.
Sañjaya speaks of a visible, present calamity—an approaching ruin that has now reached him too. He contrasts his former status as a protector-ruler of the earth with his current fallen condition, highlighting the catastrophic reversal brought about by the war.