Shloka 26

Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्ननिर्जिते युद्धे कामवस्थां गमिष्यसि । एतज्जित्वा महाराज कृतकृत्यो भविष्यसि,“महाराज! यदि युद्धमें आपने मनको परास्त नहीं किया तो पता नहीं आप किस अवस्थाको पहुँच जायँगे? और यदि मनको जीत लिया तो अवश्य कृतकृत्य हो जायूँगे। प्राणियोंके आवागमनको देखते हुए इस विचारधाराको बुद्धिमें स्थिर करके आप पिता- पितामहोंके आचारमें प्रतिष्ठित हो यथोचित रूपसे राज्यका शासन कीजिये

Transliteration

tasminn anirjite yuddhe kāmāvasthāṁ gamiṣyasi | etaj jitvā mahārāja kṛtakṛtyo bhaviṣyasi ||

Translation

ആ യുദ്ധത്തിൽ നീ (അന്തര്ശത്രുവിനെ) ജയിക്കാതിരുന്നാൽ, കാമവശതയുടെ അവസ്ഥയിലേക്കു നീ വീഴും. എന്നാൽ, മഹാരാജാ, ഇതിനെ ജയിച്ചാൽ നീ കൃതകൃത്യനായിത്തീരും.

Word by Word

तस्मिन्in that

अनिर्जितेnot conquered

युद्धेin the battle

काम-अवस्थाम्a state of desire (lustful condition)

गमिष्यसिyou will go/attain

एतत्this

जित्वाhaving conquered

महा-राजO great king

कृत-कृत्यःone who has accomplished what is to be done; fulfilled

भविष्यसिyou will be/become

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (the king addressed)

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 teaches that the decisive victory is inner: if a ruler fails to subdue desire (kāma) and the mind’s impulses, he becomes enslaved by them; conquering them makes him truly ‘kṛtakṛtya’—one who has accomplished what is essential for righteous life and rule.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating the discourse of Śānti Parva, addresses a king with counsel: the ‘battle’ is framed as a moral struggle, warning that failure to conquer the inner enemy leads to degeneration into desire-driven conduct, while inner conquest establishes fitness for dharmic governance.