Shloka 19
Adhyāya 113: Karṇa–Bhīma Śaravarṣa and the Battlefield Aftermath (कर्णभीमशरवर्षः)
सो<5यं मम जयो व्यक्त व्यर्थ एव भविष्यति । यदि द्रोणो रणे क्रुद्धों निगृह्लीयाद् युधिष्ठिरम्,“यदि द्रोणाचार्य रणक्षेत्रमें कुपित होकर युधिष्ठिरको कैद कर लेंगे तो मेरी यह विजय अवश्य ही व्यर्थ हो जायगी
so ’yaṃ mama jayo vyaktaṃ vyartha eva bhaviṣyati | yadi droṇo raṇe kruddho nigṛhṇīyād yudhiṣṭhiram ||
Sañjaya said: “This victory of mine will plainly become futile, if Droṇa, enraged on the battlefield, were to seize and take Yudhiṣṭhira captive.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a single ethically and politically decisive act—capturing a righteous king like Yudhiṣṭhira—can nullify the meaning of ‘victory.’ It implies that triumph in war is not merely territorial or martial; it is judged by its consequences for dharma, legitimacy, and the stability of rule.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, foresees that if Droṇa becomes furious in combat and succeeds in seizing Yudhiṣṭhira, then the speaker’s side’s ‘victory’ would turn pointless—because Yudhiṣṭhira’s capture would decisively alter the war’s moral and strategic balance.