Shloka 54
आत्मापराधात् सुमहान् प्राप्तस्ते विपुल: क्षय: । नैन॑ दुर्योधने दोष कर्तुमहसि मानद,मानद! अपने ही अपराधसे आपके सामने यह महान् जनसंहार प्राप्त हुआ है। आपको यह सारा दोष दुर्योधनपर नहीं मढ़ना चाहिये
sañjaya uvāca | ātmāparādhāt sumahān prāptas te vipulaḥ kṣayaḥ | nainaṃ duryodhane doṣaṃ kartum arhasi mānada mānada ||
Sañjaya said: “Because of your own fault, a very great and widespread destruction has come upon you. O giver of honor, you should not lay this blame upon Duryodhana.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral responsibility: catastrophic outcomes in war should be owned as consequences of one’s own errors (ātmāparādha), rather than shifted onto a single scapegoat. It is an ethical warning against blame-transfer and a call to self-accounting in leadership.
Sañjaya addresses the grieving king (implied context: Dhṛtarāṣṭra) after heavy losses, stating that the vast destruction has arisen from the king’s own failings and choices, and that he should not attribute the entire fault to Duryodhana.