Shloka 23
Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals
Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness
श्रूयते हि पुराकल्पे गुरूनननुमान्य यः । युध्यते स भवेद् व्यक्तमपध्यातो महत्तरै:
śrūyate hi purākalpe gurūn ananumānya yaḥ | yudhyate sa bhaved vyaktam apadhyāto mahattaraiḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「古の伝承にこう聞く。師や長老の許しを得ぬまま戦に臨む者は、尊ぶべき人々の目には、礼を失い堕した者として明らかに映るのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, dharma requires deference to legitimate authority: one should not take up battle on one’s own impulse but seek the sanction of elders/teachers; otherwise one incurs moral censure and loss of standing among the wise.
Sañjaya invokes an old, well-known precedent to frame the ethical norms of fighting—reminding that acting without the approval of revered seniors was traditionally condemned—thereby commenting on proper conduct amid the unfolding war.