Shloka 23
यत्र नास्ति शरै: कार्य न मित्रैर्न च बन्धुभि: । आत्मनैकेन योद्धव्यं तत्ते युद्धमुपस्थितम्,“इस युद्धमें न तो बाणोंका काम है, न मित्रों और बन्धुओंकी सहायताका। अकेले आपको ही लड़ना है। वह युद्ध आपके सामने उपस्थित है
yatra nāsti śaraiḥ kāryaṁ na mitrair na ca bandhubhiḥ | ātmanā ekena yoddhavyaṁ tat te yuddham upasthitam ||
Where arrows are of no use, and neither friends nor kinsmen can offer any help—there you must fight alone, with only your own self. That battle now stands before you.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The decisive struggle for dharma is ultimately internal: weapons, allies, and family support cannot substitute for personal moral resolve. One must confront one’s own fear, attachment, and confusion directly—this is the ‘battle’ that truly matters.
Vaiśampāyana frames a situation where conventional warfare—arrows and external assistance—cannot accomplish the needed victory. The listener is pointed toward an imminent, solitary confrontation: an inner contest requiring self-reliance and ethical steadiness rather than military means.