Shloka 26

भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः

Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify

Devanagari script

वाक्यं हित॑ च पथ्यं च मर्त्या: पथ्यमिवौषधम्‌ । पुत्राणां मतमाज्ञाय जितान्‌ मन्यसि पाण्डवान्‌,जैसे मरणासन्न मनुष्य हितकारी औषधको भी फेंक देते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपने हमलोगोंके कहे हुए लाभकारी और हितकर वचनोंको भी ठुकरा दिया एवं अब अपने पुत्रोंकी बातमें आकर यह मान रहे हैं कि हमने पाण्डवोंको जीत लिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vākyaṃ hitaṃ ca pathyaṃ ca martyāḥ pathyam ivauṣadham | putrāṇāṃ matam ājñāya jitān manyasi pāṇḍavān |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «De même que les mortels, à l’approche de la mort, rejettent même un remède salutaire, de même as-tu repoussé nos conseils utiles et bienveillants. Et maintenant, t’étant rangé à l’avis de tes fils, tu t’imagines que les Pāṇḍava ont été vaincus».

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'vākya': 'speech, statement, counsel', 'hita': 'beneficial, for one’s good', 'pathya': 'wholesome, salutary (especially in a medical/ethical sense: what is ‘fit’ and ‘good to follow’)', 'martya': 'mortal human being', 'iva': 'like, as', 'auṣadha': 'medicine, remedy', 'putrāṇām': 'of (your) sons', 'mata': 'opinion, view, counsel', 'ājñāya': 'having known/accepted, having taken into account', 'jitān': 'conquered, defeated', 'manyasi': 'you think, you suppose', 'pāṇḍavān': 'the Pāṇḍavas (sons of Pāṇḍu)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas
• sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Kauravas, implied)
• wholesome medicine (auṣadha, as a simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rejecting wholesome advice—especially in a crisis—leads to self-deception and ruin. True welfare (hita, pathya) may be unpleasant to hear, but it is like medicine: necessary for survival and right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya rebukes the king (contextually Dhṛtarāṣṭra) for ignoring well-intentioned counsel and instead adopting his sons’ view, which makes him believe prematurely that the Pāṇḍavas have been defeated.