Shloka 21
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
मा सम यज्ञकृतां प्रीतिमाप्तुयां सज्जनोचिताम् । यदीमां रजनी व्युष्टां न हि हन्मि परान् रणे
mā sama-yajñakṛtāṁ prītim āptuyāṁ sajjanocitām | yadīmāṁ rajanīṁ vyuṣṭāṁ na hi hanmi parān raṇe ||
サンジャヤは言った。「この夜が明けてもなお、戦場にて敵を討たぬなら、善人にふさわしい、よく成就したヤジュニャの歓喜にも似た清らかな満足を、我は得ぬがよい。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames martial resolve in ethical terms: true satisfaction worthy of the virtuous is not mere pleasure but the inner approval that comes from fulfilling one’s vowed duty—here, the duty to confront the foe once the decisive moment (dawn) arrives.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s intense determination: he invokes a self-imprecation—renouncing the ‘noble joy’ likened to sacrificial merit—unless, after this night ends, he engages decisively and strikes the enemy in the coming battle.