Shloka 46
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
प्रणिपत्य हि राजानं राज्यं यदि लभेमहि । श्रेय: स्यान्न तु मौढ्येन राजन् गन्तु: पराभवम्,“राजन! यदि राजा युधिष्ठिरके सामने नतमस्तक होकर हम अपना राज्य प्राप्त कर लें तो यही श्रेयस्कर होगा। मूर्खतावश पराजय स्वीकार करनेवालेका कभी भला नहीं हो सकता
praṇipatya hi rājānaṃ rājyaṃ yadi labhemahi | śreyaḥ syān na tu mauḍhyena rājan gantuḥ parābhavam ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, if by bowing down before the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) we could regain our kingdom, that would be the wiser and more beneficial course. But to march on, out of sheer folly, toward an acknowledged defeat—there can be no good in that.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that humility and realistic reconciliation can be ethically and practically superior to stubborn pride. Seeking welfare (śreyas) may require submission and restraint, whereas acting from delusion (mauḍhya) leads to needless defeat and harm.
Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, urging that if the Kauravas could recover their kingdom by bowing before Yudhiṣṭhira, that would be the best outcome; persisting in a course that ends in defeat, driven by folly, is portrayed as self-destructive.