Shloka 46
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
प्रणिपत्य हि राजानं राज्यं यदि लभेमहि । श्रेय: स्यान्न तु मौढ्येन राजन् गन्तु: पराभवम्
praṇipatya hi rājānaṃ rājyaṃ yadi labhemahi | śreyaḥ syān na tu mauḍhyena rājan gantuḥ parābhavam ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô Roi, si, en nous inclinant devant le roi (Yudhiṣṭhira), nous pouvions recouvrer notre royaume, ce serait la voie la plus sage et la plus profitable. Mais marcher, par pure folie, vers une défaite déjà certaine — il n’y a là aucun bien.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that humility and realistic reconciliation can be ethically and practically superior to stubborn pride. Seeking welfare (śreyas) may require submission and restraint, whereas acting from delusion (mauḍhya) leads to needless defeat and harm.
Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, urging that if the Kauravas could recover their kingdom by bowing before Yudhiṣṭhira, that would be the best outcome; persisting in a course that ends in defeat, driven by folly, is portrayed as self-destructive.