Shloka 21

अध्याय २६ — युद्ध-निन्दा, काम-दोष, तथा धार्तराष्ट्र-नीति-विश्लेषण

War-aversion, Desire as a Policy Fault, and Analysis of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Governance

Devanagari script

अप्राज्ञो वा पाण्डव युध्यमानो- <धर्मज्ञो वा भूतिमथो< भ्युपैति । प्रज्ञावान्‌ वा बुध्यमानो5पि धर्म संस्तम्भाद्‌ वा सो5पि भूतेरपैति,पाण्डुकुमार! अज्ञानी अथवा पापी मनुष्य भी युद्ध करके सम्पत्ति प्राप्त कर लेता है और बुद्धिमान्‌ अथवा धर्मज्ञ पुरुष भी दैवी बाधाके कारण पराजित होकर एऐश्वर्यसे हाथ धो बैठता है

Transliteration

aprajño vā pāṇḍava yudhyamāno dharmajño vā bhūtim atho 'bhyupaiti | prajñāvān vā budhyamāno 'pi dharma-saṃstambhād vā so 'pi bhūter apaiti, pāṇḍu-kumāra ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O Pāṇḍava, whether a man is foolish or even discerning, if he fights, he may still come into prosperity. And even a wise man—one who understands dharma—may, through the pressure of fate and overpowering circumstances, be driven away from prosperity. Thus, in war, success and loss do not always follow intelligence or righteousness alone.”

Word by Word

• {'aprajñaḥ': 'unwise, lacking discernment', 'pāṇḍava': 'son of Pāṇḍu

• address to a Pāṇḍava prince', 'yudhyamānaḥ': 'fighting, engaged in battle', 'dharmajñaḥ': 'knower of dharma

• righteous and discerning in duty', 'bhūtiḥ': 'prosperity, success, fortune, power', 'abhyupaiti': 'attains, comes to, obtains', 'prajñāvān': 'wise, intelligent, possessing insight', 'budhyamānaḥ': 'understanding, reflecting, becoming aware', 'dharmaḥ': 'duty, righteousness, moral order', 'saṃstambhaḥ': 'constraint, obstruction, overpowering pressure (often implying a fateful check)', 'bhūteḥ apaiti': 'falls away from prosperity

• loses fortune', 'pāṇḍu-kumāra': 'son of Pāṇḍu

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍava
• Pāṇḍu-kumāra
• dharma
• bhūti

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the unpredictability of worldly outcomes: prosperity in war may come even to the unwise, while the wise and dharma-knowing may still lose fortune due to overpowering circumstances (often understood as fate or adverse conditions). It cautions against assuming that merit alone guarantees success.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses a Pāṇḍava prince and reflects on the nature of victory and loss in conflict, emphasizing that battle results can diverge from moral worth or intelligence, thereby framing the ethical tension surrounding the coming war.