Shloka 5
तस्मात् पार्थविनाशार्थ हितार्थ मम चैव हि | सारथ्य॑ रथिनां श्रेष्ठ प्रणयात् कर्तुमहसि,'शत्रुपक्षका विनाश करनेवाले, अनुपम शक्तिशाली, रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ मद्रराज! मैं मस्तक झुकाकर विनयपूर्वक आपसे यह याचना करता हूँ कि आप अर्जुनके विनाश और मेरे हितके लिये प्रेमपूर्वक कर्णका सारथ्य कीजिये
tasmāt pārtha-vināśārthaṁ hitārthaṁ mama caiva hi | sārathyaṁ rathināṁ śreṣṭha praṇayāt kartum arhasi ||
Sañjaya said: “Therefore, for the destruction of Pārtha (Arjuna) and indeed for my own welfare, O best of chariot-warriors, you ought—out of affectionate regard—to undertake the office of charioteer.” In the moral atmosphere of the war, the request frames loyalty and personal advantage as motives, urging skilled service to secure the fall of a foremost opponent.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how affection and loyalty (praṇaya) can be invoked to justify strategic action in war, even when the aim is another’s destruction. It implicitly raises an ethical tension: personal welfare and factional success are presented as sufficient grounds for service, showing how dharma can be rhetorically bent under the pressures of conflict.
Sañjaya addresses a foremost chariot-warrior, urging him to take up the role of charioteer in order to help bring about Arjuna’s defeat and to secure Sañjaya’s (or his side’s) advantage. The request underscores the importance of expert charioteering as a decisive factor in battlefield outcomes.