Shloka 50
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय ८७: सात्यकेरनुयात्रा
Sātyaki’s resolve and departure to reach Arjuna
यदुपायात सायाह्रे कृत्वा पार्थस्य किल्बिषम् | अभिमन्यौ हते तात कथमासीन्मनो हि व:,तात! जब तुमलोग अभिमन्युके मारे जानेपर अर्जुनका महान् अपराध करके सायंकालमें शिविरको लौटे थे, उस समय तुम्हारे मनकी क्या अवस्था थी?
yadupāyāt sāyāhre kṛtvā pārthasya kilbiṣam | abhimanyau hate tāta katham āsīn mano hi vaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “When, toward evening, you returned to the camp after committing a grave wrong against Pārtha—after Abhimanyu had been slain—what, dear one, was the state of your mind?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability in war: even amid battlefield strategy, a deliberate collective wrong (kilbiṣa) against a righteous opponent invites inner turmoil and ethical scrutiny. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s question implies that victory gained through adharma carries psychological and karmic weight.
After Abhimanyu has been killed—an act viewed as a grave injustice toward Arjuna (Pārtha)—the Kaurava side returns to their camp at evening. Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks what Duryodhana and his party felt inwardly at that moment, probing their conscience and state of mind.