Shloka 253
त्वयि वैक्लव्यमापन्ने संशयो विजये भवेत् । “राजन! उठिये और युद्ध कीजिये। इस महासंग्रामका गुरुतर भार सँभालिये। प्रभो! आपके घबरा जानेपर विजय मिलनेमें संदेह है”
tvayi vaiklavyam āpanne saṁśayo vijaye bhavet | rājann uṭhiye yuddhaṁ kṛṇu, asya mahāsaṅgrāmasya gurutara-bhāraṁ saṁbhālayasva | prabho, tava ghabarāyane vijaya-lābhe saṁdehaḥ |
Sañjaya says: “If you fall into faint-heartedness, O King, victory itself becomes doubtful. Rise and fight; take up the heavy burden of this great war. For if you lose courage, my lord, there can be no certainty of triumph.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s inner steadiness is ethically consequential: when the leader collapses into fear, the collective aim—here, victory and the ability to carry responsibility—becomes uncertain. The verse frames courage not as mere aggression but as the capacity to shoulder duty in a crisis.
Sañjaya urges the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) not to succumb to discouragement. He warns that the king’s wavering undermines confidence in success and exhorts him to rise and bear the heavy responsibility of the ongoing great battle.