Shloka 20
अध्याय २६ — युद्ध-निन्दा, काम-दोष, तथा धार्तराष्ट्र-नीति-विश्लेषण
War-aversion, Desire as a Policy Fault, and Analysis of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Governance
बल॑ कस्माद् वर्धयित्वा परस्य निजान् कस्मात् कर्शयित्वा सहायान् | निरुष्य कस्माद् वर्षपूगान् वनेषु युयुत्ससे पाण्डव हीनकालम्,पाण्डुनन्दन! फिर क्या कारण है कि आपने शत्रुकी शक्तिको बढ़नेका अवसर दिया? किसलिये अपने सहायकोंको दुर्बल बनाया और क्यों बारह वर्षोतक वनमें निवास किया? फिर आज जब वह अनुकूल अवसर बीत चुका है, आपको युद्ध करनेकी इच्छा क्यों हुई है?
balaṁ kasmād vardhayitvā parasya nijān kasmāt karśayitvā sahāyān | nirūṣya kasmād varṣa-pūgān vaneṣu yuyutsase pāṇḍava hīna-kālaṁ, pāṇḍu-nandana!
Sañjaya said: “Why did you allow the enemy’s strength to grow? Why did you weaken your own supporters? Why did you spend a long succession of years living in the forests? And now, when that favorable moment has already passed, why do you desire to wage war, O Pāṇḍava, O son of Pāṇḍu?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-strategic critique: delaying action can strengthen an adversary and weaken one’s own allies; therefore timing (kāla) and responsibility toward supporters are central considerations in dharma-informed statecraft.
Sañjaya challenges a Pāṇḍava, questioning why he tolerated the enemy’s rise, endured long forest-dwelling, and only now seeks war after the supposedly favorable opportunity has passed—highlighting the tension between patience/endurance and decisive action.