Shloka 45
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
राजन्! तदनन्तर कौरवोंका पाण्डवोंके साथ अत्यन्त भयंकर युद्ध होने लगा, जो कपटपूर्ण द्यूतके कारण सम्भव हुआ था और जिसमें बड़ी भारी मारकाट मच रही थी ।।
rājan! tadanantaraṁ kauravāṇāṁ pāṇḍavaiḥ sārdham atyanta-bhayaṅkaraṁ yuddhaṁ babhūva, yat kapaṭa-pūrva-dyūta-kāraṇāt sambhūtaṁ mahā-vadha-prāyaṁ ca. yat pūrā na nigṛhṇāsi vāryamāṇo mahātmabhiḥ, vaicitravīrya—tasyedaṁ phalaṁ paśya sudāruṇam. vicitravīrya-nandana mahārāja dhṛtarāṣṭra! pūrva-kāle mahātmabhiḥ pratiṣiddho ’pi yad vacanaṁ nānvaśṛṇoḥ, tasyaivāyaṁ ghoraḥ phala-prāptiḥ—paśya.
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, ensuite éclata une bataille des plus effroyables entre les Kaurava et les Pāṇḍava—issue rendue possible par le jeu de dés trompeur—et elle fut pleine d’un carnage terrible. Ce que jadis tu n’as pas su réfréner, bien que des anciens au cœur noble t’en aient détourné, a maintenant mûri en sa conséquence la plus âpre. Ô Dhritarashtra, fils de Vichitravirya : contemple ce fruit d’une cruauté extrême, né de ton refus d’autrefois d’écouter le conseil des grands.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ignoring righteous counsel and failing to restrain wrongdoing—especially by those in power—inevitably bears a harsh fruit. The verse frames the war’s horror as the moral consequence of earlier choices rooted in deceit (the dice game) and negligence in governance.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that a terrifying battle has erupted between the Kauravas and Pandavas. He directly links this catastrophe to the deceitful dice match and reminds Dhritarashtra that he previously refused to heed the warnings of noble elders, and is now witnessing the dreadful result.