Shloka 9
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
आत्मदोषात् समुत्पन्नं शोचितुं नार्हसे नृप । न हि रक्षन्ति राजान: सर्वथात्रापि जीवितम्,नरेश्वर! अपने ही अपराधसे जो संकट प्राप्त हुआ है, उसके लिये आपको शोक नहीं करना चाहिये। (आपके अपराधके कारण) राजालोग भी इस भूतलमें सर्वथा अपने जीवनकी रक्षा नहीं कर पाते हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
ātmadoṣāt samutpannaṃ śocituṃ nārhase nṛpa |
na hi rakṣanti rājānaḥ sarvathātrāpi jīvitam, nareśvara ||
Sañjaya said: “O king, you should not grieve over a calamity that has arisen from your own fault. Even kings, O lord of men, are not able to safeguard their lives in every way upon this earth.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief is inappropriate when suffering is the result of one’s own wrongdoing; the verse stresses personal accountability and the inevitability of mortality—even royal power cannot guarantee protection of life.
Sañjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), counseling him not to lament a crisis brought about by his own errors, and reminding him that even kings cannot fully secure life in this world.