Mahabharata 11.14.9 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 9
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीभीमसेनसंवादः
Strī-parva — Gāndhārī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Wartime Conduct
सा तथा याच्यमाना त्वं काले काले जयैषिणा । उक्तवत्यसि गान्धारि यतो धर्मस्ततो जय:
sā tathā yācyamānā tvaṃ kāle kāle jayaiṣiṇā | uktavaty asi gāndhāri yato dharmas tato jayaḥ ||
ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದರು— “ಹೀಗೆ ಜಯವನ್ನು ಬಯಸಿದ ದುರ್ಯೋಧನನು ಕಾಲಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ಬೇಡಿಕೊಂಡಾಗ, ಓ ಗಾಂಧಾರಿ, ನೀನು ಸದಾ ಇದೇ ಉತ್ತರವನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ— ‘ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಧರ್ಮವೋ, ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಜಯ.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ethical principle of moral causality: true and lasting victory aligns with dharma. Success pursued without righteousness is unstable and ultimately self-defeating, whereas dharma is presented as the decisive ground of legitimate triumph.
Vaiśampāyana recounts that Duryodhana, eager for victory, repeatedly approached Gāndhārī for support or reassurance. Each time, she responded with the same admonition—victory belongs to the side grounded in dharma—implicitly warning him about the consequences of adharma.
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