Shloka 26
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
तवापराधादस्माभि भ्रातरस्ते निपातिता: । निहता ज्ञातयश्चापि दिएष्ट॑ मन्ये दुरत्ययम्,“तुम्हारे अपराधसे ही हमलोगोंने तुम्हारे भाइयोंको मार गिराया और कुटुम्बीजनोंका वध किया है, मैं इसे दैवका दुर्लड्घ्य विधान ही मानता हूँ
tavāparādhād asmābhiḥ bhrātaras te nipātitāḥ | nihatā jñātayaś cāpi daivam etan manye duratyayam ||
Dijo Sañjaya: «Por tu falta hemos abatido a tus hermanos, y también tus parientes han sido muertos. Lo considero un decreto inexorable del destino, algo que no se vence con facilidad.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames catastrophic loss as arising from moral fault (aparādha) while also acknowledging the overpowering force of destiny (daiva). Ethically, it stresses accountability for wrongdoing, yet recognizes that once adharma sets events in motion, outcomes can become difficult to avert.
Sañjaya reports the devastation of the war to the listener, attributing the deaths of the listener’s brothers and relatives to the listener’s own culpable choices, and characterizes the resulting destruction as an inexorable working of fate.