Shloka 11

Devanagari script

समृद्धिरसमृद्धिर्वा पूर्वेषां मम संजय । एवं विद्वान्‌ युद्धमना भव मा प्रत्युपाहर,संजय! युद्धसे हमारे पूर्वजोंका अथवा मेरा कोई लाभ हो या हानि, युद्ध करना क्षत्रियोंका धर्म है, ऐसा समझकर उसीमें मन लगा, युद्ध बंद न कर

Transliteration

samṛddhir asamṛddhir vā pūrveṣāṁ mama sañjaya | evaṁ vidvān yuddhamanā bhava mā pratyupāhara, sañjaya ||

Translation

「それが我らの祖先にとってであれ、この私にとってであれ、利となろうと損となろうと、サンジャヤよ――戦うことこそクシャトリヤのダルマと知って、心を戦に堅く据え、退くな。」

Word by Word

समृद्धिःprosperity, gain

असमृद्धिःnon-prosperity, loss

वाor

पूर्वेषाम्of the forefathers/ancestors

ममof me, my

संजयO Sanjaya

एवम्thus, in this way

विद्वान्knowing, wise

युद्धमनाःhaving the mind set on battle

भवbe (become)

माdo not

प्रत्युपाहरdo not withdraw/hold back (lit. bring back/retreat)

संजयO Sanjaya

Speaker

पुत्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

pūrveṣaḥ (ancestors)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes niṣkāma-like resolve in kṣatriya duty: one should commit to righteous action (here, battle as kṣatriya-dharma) without being swayed by calculations of personal or ancestral gain and loss, and without retreating once duty is understood.

What is happening in the narrative?

A ‘son’ (putra) addresses Sañjaya, urging him to keep his mind fixed on the impending war and not to desist, framing the decision as grounded in the traditional duty of the warrior class rather than in considerations of advantage or harm.