Shloka 12
Aśvatthāmā’s Buddhi-Doctrine and Nocturnal Incursion Resolve (अश्वत्थाम्नः बुद्धिविचारः सौप्तिकसंकल्पश्च)
व्यसनं वा महाघोरं समृद्धि चापि तादृशीम् । अवाप्य पुरुषो भोज कुरुते बुद्धिवैकृतम्
vyasanaṃ vā mahāghoraṃ samṛddhiṃ cāpi tādṛśīm | avāpya puruṣo bhoja kurute buddhivaikṛtam ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô Bhoja, lorsqu’un homme tombe dans un malheur d’une horreur extrême, ou lorsqu’il obtient une prospérité tout aussi grande, alors—au contact de cette détresse ou de ce succès—son entendement se déforme : la tristesse naît à la suite du malheur, et la joie naît à la suite de la prospérité.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extreme misfortune and extreme prosperity both disturb discernment: calamity tends to generate grief and prosperity tends to generate elation, and these emotional surges can warp judgment.
Sañjaya addresses “Bhoja” and comments on how human intellect becomes unsettled when confronted with severe crisis or great success—an observation that frames the emotional and moral turbulence surrounding the events of the Sauptika Parva.