Shloka 24

कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः

Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

आपदगतं कश्चन यो विमोक्षेत्‌ स बान्धव: स्नेहयुक्त: सुहृच्च | एवं पुराणा मुनयो वदन्ति धर्म: सदा सद्धिरनुछितश्व॒

Transliteration

āpada-gataṁ kaścana yo vimokṣet sa bāndhavaḥ sneha-yuktaḥ suhṛt ca | evaṁ purāṇā munayo vadanti dharmaḥ sadā sadbhir anuṣṭhitaś ca ||

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: «Quien rescata a un hombre caído en la calamidad—solo él es de veras pariente, de veras afectuoso, de veras bienhechor. Así lo declaran los sabios antiguos. Este es un dharma que los buenos han practicado desde tiempo inmemorial.»

Word by Word

• {'āpada (आपद्)': 'calamity, distress, crisis', 'āpada-gata (आपदगत)': 'one who has fallen into distress', 'kaścana (कश्चन)': 'someone, any person', 'yaḥ (यः)': 'who', 'vimokṣet (विमोक्षेत्)': 'should free, should rescue, should deliver', 'sa (स)': 'he, that person', 'bāndhavaḥ (बान्धवः)': 'kinsman, true relative (in the ethical sense)', 'sneha-yuktaḥ (स्नेहयुक्तः)': 'endowed with affection, loving', 'suhṛt (सुहृत्)': 'friend, well-wisher, benevolent ally', 'evaṁ (एवं)': 'thus', 'purāṇāḥ (पुराणाः)': 'ancient, of old', 'munayaḥ (मुनयः)': 'sages, seers', 'vadanti (वदन्ति)': 'say, declare', 'dharmaḥ (धर्मः)': 'righteous duty, moral law, right conduct', 'sadā (सदा)': 'always', 'sadbhis (सद्भिः)': 'by the good, by virtuous people', 'anuṣṭhitaḥ (अनुष्ठितः)': 'practiced, observed, carried out', 'ca (च)': 'and'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• munayaḥ (ancient sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True kinship and friendship are proven by action: the person who delivers another from danger is the real bāndhava (kinsman) and suhṛt (well-wisher). This is presented as an ancient, enduring standard of dharma upheld by the virtuous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a moral maxim within the war narrative, grounding the discussion in traditional authority (“the ancient sages say”). He frames rescue and protection in times of crisis as a timeless duty, implicitly evaluating relationships by conduct rather than mere blood or alliance.