को वा समयके त्तारं बुध: सम्मन्तुमर्हति । “छलसे विजय पाकर किसी सत्त्वगुणी या शक्तिशाली पुरुषको क्या प्रसन्नता होगी? अथवा जो युद्धके नियमको भंग कर देता है, उसका सम्मान कौन विद्वान् कर सकता है?
ko vā samayakettāraṁ budhaḥ sammantuṁ arhati | chalase vijayaṁ prāpya kasya sattvaguṇī vā śaktimān puruṣo bhavet prītaḥ | athavā yo yuddhasya niyamān bhaṅkte tasya sammānaṁ kaḥ vidvān kartum arhati ||
サञ्जयは言った。「いったい賢者が誉れに値すると認めるのは誰か――合意された戦の規則を破る者であろうか。欺きによって勝利を得て、真に徳ある者、あるいは真に強き者が、どこに満足を見いだせよう。戦の法を踏みにじる者を、いかなる学識ある者が正しく敬うことができようか。」
संजय उवाच
Victory gained through deceit and by breaking agreed rules of war is ethically hollow; the wise do not honor a transgressor of dharma, because true glory depends on righteous means, not merely on outcomes.
Sañjaya comments on the moral evaluation of conduct in battle, stressing that learned people cannot respect someone who violates the established conventions of warfare, even if such conduct leads to victory.