Shloka 196
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
निष्ठरा हीनकर्माणस्तेन हीयन्ति संयुगे । महाराज! धर्मके ही कारण दुन्तीके पुत्र युद्धमें अवध्य और विजयी हो रहे हैं। इधर आपके दुरात्मा पुत्र सदा पापोंमें ही तत्पर रहते हैं। निर्दय होनेके साथ ही निकृष्ट कर्ममें लगे रहते हैं। इसीलिये युद्धस्थलमें उन्हें हानि उठानी पड़ती है
niṣṭharā hīna-karmāṇas tena hīyanti saṁyuge | mahārāja! dharmake hi kāraṇād duntīke putrā yuddhe 'vadhyā vijayinaś ca bhavanti | iha ca tava durātmā putrāḥ sadā pāpeṣu eva tatparāḥ | nirdhayāḥ san nikṛṣṭa-karmaṇi lagnāḥ | tasmād yuddha-sthale te hānim upayānti |
Sañjaya said: “O great king, those who are harsh and given to base deeds are diminished in battle by that very conduct. It is on account of dharma that the sons of Kuntī prove unassailable and victorious in war. But your wicked-minded sons are ever intent on sin; cruel and engaged in ignoble actions, they therefore suffer loss on the battlefield.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral character and adherence to dharma are presented as decisive forces: righteous conduct strengthens and protects, while cruelty and sinful, ignoble actions lead to decline and defeat—even in the arena of war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍavas are prevailing because they stand with dharma, whereas the Kauravas, characterized as cruel and sin-inclined, are suffering losses on the battlefield.