Shloka 95
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
न चेदिदं कर्म नरेन्द्र वन्ध्यं न चेद् भवेत् सुकृतं निष्फलं वा । इदं च तच्चाभिसमीक्ष्य नून॑ पराजयो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य साधु:
sañjaya uvāca |
na ced idaṃ karma narendra vandhyaṃ na ced bhavet sukṛtaṃ niṣphalaṃ vā |
idaṃ ca tac cābhisamīkṣya nūnaṃ parājayo dhārtarāṣṭrasya sādhuḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「王よ、もし人の悪業が空しく終わらず、また善業が相応の果報を欠くことがないのなら—今の振る舞いと過去の所業とをつぶさに見定めたうえで—私は確信をもって言える。持国王の子の敗北は避けがたい。そしてその敗北こそが、世の真の安寧となる。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts moral causality: evil actions do not remain fruitless and good actions do not lose their reward. From this principle, Sañjaya infers that Duryodhana’s accumulated wrongdoing must culminate in defeat, which is presented as a salutary outcome for the wider world.
Sañjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and, reflecting on Duryodhana’s present and past conduct, predicts the inevitable defeat of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son. The statement functions as a grim ethical prognosis in the lead-up to the great conflict.