Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 25
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
घातयित्वा वयस्यांश्व भ्रातृनथ पितृंस्तथा । पुत्रान् पौत्रांस्तथा चान्यांस्ततो5सि निधनं गत:,“तुम अपने मित्रों, भाइयों, पितृतुल्य पुरुषों, पुत्रों और पौत्रोंका वध कराकर फिर स्वयं भी मारे गये
ghātayitvā vayasyāṁś ca bhrātṝn atha pitṝṁs tathā | putrān pautrāṁs tathā cānyāṁs tato 'si nidhanaṁ gataḥ ||
Setelah menyebabkan terbunuhnya sahabat-sahabatmu, saudara-saudaramu, para tua yang laksana ayah, juga putra-putramu, cucu-cucumu, dan yang lain-lain, engkau pun akhirnya sendiri jatuh ke dalam kebinasaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality in warfare: instigating or enabling the killing of one’s own circle—friends, brothers, elders, descendants—leads to ruin. It frames destruction not merely as a battlefield outcome but as an ethical consequence of adharma-driven violence.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, delivers a pointed summary of a warrior’s fate: after orchestrating the deaths of close relations and others, that person too meets death. The statement functions as a grim reckoning within the Shalya Parva’s war narrative.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.