Shloka 25
शैनेयचरितम्
The Exploits of Śaineya/Sātyaki amid Encirclement
कुनृपस्य यथा राष्ट्र दुर्भिक्षव्याधितस्करै: । द्राव्यते तद्गधदापन्ना पाण्डवैस्तव वाहिनी,जैसे दुष्ट राजाका राज्य दुर्भिक्ष, भाँति-भाँतिकी बीमारी और चोर-डाकुओंके उपद्रवके कारण उजाड़ हो जाता है, उसी प्रकार पाण्डव-सैनिकोंद्वारा विपत्तिमें पड़ी हुई आपकी सेना इधर-उधर खदेड़ी जा रही थी
sañjaya uvāca |
kunṛpasya yathā rāṣṭraṃ durbhikṣa-vyādhi-taskaraiḥ |
drāvyate tadgadā-āpannā pāṇḍavaiḥ tava vāhinī ||
Sañjaya said: “Just as the kingdom of a wicked ruler is laid waste—driven into ruin by famine, disease, and bands of thieves—so too your army, struck by calamity, was being scattered and chased in all directions by the Pāṇḍavas.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a political-ethical simile: misrule (a ‘wicked king’) invites systemic collapse—famine, disease, lawlessness—just as poor leadership and moral disorder in war lead to an army’s breakdown. It implies that adharma in governance and conduct produces collective suffering and disintegration.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava forces are in distress and are being driven and scattered by the Pāṇḍava warriors, likening their disarray to a kingdom devastated by famine, epidemics, and robbers.