Shloka 55
अनुसृत्य वधिष्यन्ति श्रेयान् न: समरे वध: । “यदि तुम अलग-अलग होकर भागोगे तो पाण्डव तुम सब अपराधियोंका पीछा करके तुम्हें मार डालेंगे। ऐसी दशामें युद्धमें मारा जाना ही हमारे लिये श्रेयस्कर है ।। सुखं सांग्रामिको मृत्यु: क्षत्रधर्मेण युध्यताम्
anusṛtya vadhiṣyanti śreyān naḥ samare vadhaḥ | yadi yūyam alag-alag hokara bhāgoge to pāṇḍav tum sab aparādhiyoṃ kā pīchā karke tumheṃ mār ḍāleṅge | aisī daśā meṃ yuddha meṃ mārā jānā hī hamāre liye śreyaskara hai || sukhaṃ sāṃgrāmiko mṛtyuḥ kṣatradharmeṇa yudhyatām ||
サンジャヤは言った。「もしおまえたちが散り散りになって各々逃げるなら、パーンダヴァらは罪人として追いすがり、討ち取るであろう。かかる時は、戦場で討死するほうが我らには勝る。刹帝利の法に従って戦う者にとって、戦場の死はふさわしい——いや、むしろ安らかな——終わりなのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a kṣatriya ethical stance: when defeat and pursuit are inevitable, dying while fighting according to warrior-duty is considered preferable to fleeing and being slain as a culpable runaway. Honor and dharma frame the evaluation of death.
Sanjaya warns the Kaurava side that if they break ranks and flee separately, the Pāṇḍavas will chase them down and kill them; therefore he urges that it is better to stand and fight, accepting death in battle as the proper end for warriors.