Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 213

आजानेयैस्तथा यात॑ को नु स्वन्ततरो मया । “बड़े-बड़े राजाओंपर हुक्म चलाया, अत्यन्त दुर्लभ सम्मान प्राप्त किया तथा आजानेय (अरबी) घोड़ोंपर सवारी की, मुझसे अच्छा अन्त और किसका हुआ होगा?

ājāneyais tathā yātaḥ ko nu svantataro mayā |

Sañjaya dit : «J’ai chevauché de nobles chevaux ājāneya et j’ai exercé mon commandement sur de grands rois, remportant des honneurs difficiles à obtenir — qui donc, en vérité, aurait pu connaître une fin meilleure que la mienne ?»

आजानेयैःwith Ajāneya (well-bred) horses
आजानेयैः:
Karana
TypeNoun/Adjective
Rootआजानेय
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
तथाthus; also
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
यातःgone; ridden; traveled
यातः:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootया
Formक्त (past passive participle, used actively), Masculine, Nominative, Singular
कःwho?
कः:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootकिम्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
नुindeed? (interrogative particle)
नु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootनु
स्वन्ततरःhaving a better end; more fortunate in outcome
स्वन्ततरः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootस्वन्ततर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular, Comparative
मयाthan me / by me (contextually: than I)
मया:
Karana
TypePronoun
Rootअस्मद्
Form—, Instrumental, Singular

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
Ā
ājāneya horses

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights the moral tension between worldly achievement (power, prestige, luxury) and the true measure of a ‘good end.’ It implicitly questions whether external honors can justify self-satisfaction at life’s close, especially amid the ethical devastation of war.

Sañjaya voices a reflective, self-justifying thought: he recalls having commanded great kings, received rare honors, and ridden excellent horses, and then asks rhetorically who could have had a better end than his—framing a moment of evaluation of one’s life by worldly standards.