Shloka 18
ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam
Description of War Standards
तस्मिन् हि विजय: कृत्स्न: पाण्डवेन समाहित: । यदि नोड<स्ति कृतं किज्चिद् यदि दत्त हुतं यदि
tasmin hi vijayaḥ kṛtsnaḥ pāṇḍavena samāhitaḥ | yadi noḍ<sti kṛtaṃ kiñcid yadi datta hutaṃ yadi
संजय बोले—उस पाण्डव में ही सम्पूर्ण विजय दृढ़तापूर्वक संचित और सुरक्षित है। चाहे कुछ भी न किया गया हो, चाहे दान न दिया गया हो, चाहे हवन-आहुति न दी गई हो…
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a conviction common in the epic’s war-narrative: victory is not merely a product of visible effort but is ‘gathered’ around a rightful agent. It hints that ritual merit (acts done, gifts given, oblations offered) is not the sole determinant; destiny, righteousness, and the moral center embodied by the Pāṇḍava are presented as decisive.
Sañjaya, reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, emphasizes that complete victory is secured with the Pāṇḍava. The line continues with a rhetorical sequence—‘even if nothing has been done/given/offered’—to stress how strongly victory is believed to adhere to that side/person, regardless of conventional measures of merit.