Shloka 26

भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः

Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify

Devanagari script

वाक्यं हित॑ च पथ्यं च मर्त्या: पथ्यमिवौषधम्‌ । पुत्राणां मतमाज्ञाय जितान्‌ मन्यसि पाण्डवान्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vākyaṃ hitaṃ ca pathyaṃ ca martyāḥ pathyam ivauṣadham | putrāṇāṃ matam ājñāya jitān manyasi pāṇḍavān |

Translation

जैसे मृत्यु के निकट पहुँचा मनुष्य हितकारी औषधि भी त्याग देता है, वैसे ही तुमने हमारे लाभकारी और हितकर वचनों को ठुकरा दिया; और अब पुत्रों की बात मानकर यह समझ रहे हो कि पाण्डव जीत लिए गए हैं।

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'vākya': 'speech, statement, counsel', 'hita': 'beneficial, for one’s good', 'pathya': 'wholesome, salutary (especially in a medical/ethical sense: what is ‘fit’ and ‘good to follow’)', 'martya': 'mortal human being', 'iva': 'like, as', 'auṣadha': 'medicine, remedy', 'putrāṇām': 'of (your) sons', 'mata': 'opinion, view, counsel', 'ājñāya': 'having known/accepted, having taken into account', 'jitān': 'conquered, defeated', 'manyasi': 'you think, you suppose', 'pāṇḍavān': 'the Pāṇḍavas (sons of Pāṇḍu)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas
• sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Kauravas, implied)
• wholesome medicine (auṣadha, as a simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rejecting wholesome advice—especially in a crisis—leads to self-deception and ruin. True welfare (hita, pathya) may be unpleasant to hear, but it is like medicine: necessary for survival and right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya rebukes the king (contextually Dhṛtarāṣṭra) for ignoring well-intentioned counsel and instead adopting his sons’ view, which makes him believe prematurely that the Pāṇḍavas have been defeated.