Shloka 196

Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot

Devanagari script

लुब्ध: पापसहायश्च सुहदां शासनातिग: । “यह निर्लज्ज पापी तो उसी समय मर चुका था जब लोभमें फँसा और पापियोंको अपना सहायक बनाकर सुहृदोंके शासनसे दूर रहने लगा

Transliteration

lubdhaḥ pāpasahāyaś ca suhṛdāṁ śāsanātigaḥ |

Translation

संजय ने कहा: “लोभी, पापियों को सहायक बनाने वाला और सुहृदों की सीख का उल्लंघन करने वाला—ऐसा निर्लज्ज पापी वास्तव में उसी क्षण मर चुका होता है, जब वह लोभ में फँसकर दुष्टों की संगति चुनता और मित्रों की सलाह से विमुख हो जाता है।”

Word by Word

लुब्धःgreedy, covetous

पापसहायःhaving sinners as helpers; aided by the wicked

चand

सुहृदाम्of friends, of well-wishers

शासनातिगःone who transgresses the rule/command; going beyond the discipline (of friends)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Greed and association with the wicked, coupled with rejecting the guidance of true well-wishers, is portrayed as spiritual and moral death—one becomes ‘dead’ to dharma even before physical death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a moral characterization: he condemns a person as greedy, supported by sinners, and a transgressor of friends’ counsel, implying that such conduct marks the person’s downfall and inner ruin.