Shloka 36
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
निकृतेस्तस्य पापस्य ते पारं गमनेप्सवः । चारान् सम्प्रेषयामासु: समन्तात् तद्रणाजिरे,महाराज! प्रहार करनेमें कुशल पाण्डवोंने अपना लक्ष्य सिद्ध कर लिया था; उन्होंने दुर्योधनको समरांगण-में खड़ा न देख उस पापीके किये हुए छल-कपटका बदला चुकाकर वैरके पार जानेकी इच्छासे उस संग्रामभूमिमें चारों ओर गुप्तचर भेज रखे थे
sañjaya uvāca |
nikṛtes tasya pāpasya te pāraṃ gamanepsavaḥ |
cārān sampreṣayāmāsuḥ samantāt tad-raṇājire, mahārāja ||
Sañjaya dit : «Désireux de franchir l’inimitié en acquittant la tromperie de cet homme pécheur, ils dépêchèrent des espions en tous sens sur ce champ de bataille, ô Roi.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of nikṛti (deceit) in war and frames the response as a drive to bring a feud to its 'far shore'—to settle an ethical and emotional debt—while also showing that even righteous aims are pursued through disciplined strategy (spies and reconnaissance).
Sañjaya reports that, intent on answering the opponent’s treachery and concluding their hostility, the warriors dispatched spies in all directions across the battlefield to locate and track the enemy’s position.