Shloka 46
शल्यस्य सेनापत्याभ्युपगमः | Śalya’s Acceptance of Command
कीदृशं च भवेद् राज्यं मम हीनस्य बन्धुभि: । सखिभिश्न विशेषेण प्रणिपत्य च पाण्डवम्,“बन्धु-बान्धवों और मित्रोंसे हीन हो युधिष्ठिरके पैरोंमें पड़नेपर मुझे जो राज्य मिलेगा, वह कैसा होगा?
kīdṛśaṃ ca bhaved rājyaṃ mama hīnasya bandhubhiḥ | sakhībhiś ca viśeṣeṇa praṇipatya ca pāṇḍavam ||
Sañjaya dit : «Quelle royauté serait la mienne—dépouillé de parents et de compagnons—si, surtout, je dois me prosterner et tomber aux pieds du Pāṇḍava pour l’obtenir ?»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse questions the value of sovereignty gained at the cost of one’s social world—kinsmen and friends—and at the price of humiliating submission. It highlights that political power without relational support and personal honor can feel hollow and ethically troubling.
Sañjaya voices a reflection on the bleakness of obtaining or retaining a kingdom after catastrophic losses, imagining a situation where one must seek acceptance from the Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) by bowing at his feet, and wondering what such a diminished kingship would amount to.