Shloka 169
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
यदाश्रौष॑ न विदुर्मामकास्तान् प्रच्छन्नरूपान् वसत: पाण्डवेयान् | विराटराष्ट्रे सह कृष्णया च तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय,संजय! विराटकी राजधानीमें गुप्तरूपसे द्रौपदीके साथ पाँचों पाण्डव निवास कर रहे थे, परंतु मेरे पुत्र और उनके सहायक इस बातका पता नहीं लगा सके; जब मैंने यह बात सुनी, मुझे यह निश्चय हो गया कि मेरी विजय सम्भव नहीं है
yadāśrauṣa na vidur māmakās tān pracchannarūpān vasataḥ pāṇḍaveyān | virāṭarāṣṭre saha kṛṣṇayā ca tadā nāśaṃse vijayāya saṃjaya saṃjaya ||
When I heard that my own sons and their supporters had failed to discover the Pāṇḍavas living there in disguise—together with Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) in the kingdom of Virāṭa—I became convinced, Saṃjaya, that victory could not be mine. The very fact that the righteous Pāṇḍavas could remain protected and concealed, while my side remained ignorant, struck me as an ominous sign against my cause.
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma weakens confidence and clarity: when one’s cause is unjust, even small signs—like failing to detect the righteous who are protected by circumstance—are read as omens of inevitable defeat. It underscores the moral psychology of wrongdoing: fear, doubt, and loss of hope arise from an unrighteous foundation.
The speaker addresses Saṃjaya, saying that he heard the Pāṇḍavas, along with Draupadī, were living incognito in the kingdom of Virāṭa, and that his own side could not discover them. On hearing this, he concludes that victory will not be possible for him.