Shloka 18
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
हतबन्धुर्हतामात्यो भ्रष्टसैन्यो हतो मृथे । सर्वाकारेण शोच्यो5यं नावहास्यो5यमी श्वर:,“इसके भाई और मन्त्री मारे गये, सेना नष्ट-भ्रष्ट हो गयी और यह स्वयं भी युद्धमें मारा गया। ऐसी दशामें राजा दुर्योधन सर्वथा शोकके योग्य है, उपहासका पात्र नहीं है
sañjaya uvāca | hatabandhur hatāmātyo bhraṣṭasainyo hato mṛdhe | sarvākāreṇa śocyo 'yaṃ nāvahāsyo 'yam īśvaraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “His kinsmen are slain, his ministers have been killed, his army has been shattered, and he himself has fallen in battle. In every respect King Duryodhana is one to be mourned, not one to be mocked.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even an enemy who has been utterly ruined by war—bereft of kin, counsel, and army—deserves human compassion and restraint; suffering should evoke mourning rather than ridicule.
Sañjaya describes Duryodhana’s complete downfall in the war and advises that his condition warrants lamentation, not mockery, emphasizing the tragic cost of the conflict.