Shloka 263
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
स पथ: प्रच्युतो धर्माद् विपदं प्रतिपद्यते । “मानव-कर्म (पुरुषार्थ)-को दैवसे बढ़कर नहीं बताया गया है। पुरुषार्थ करते समय यदि दैववश सिद्धि नहीं प्राप्त हुई तो मनुष्य धर्ममार्गसे भ्रष्ट होकर विपत्तिमें फँस जाता है
sa panthāḥ pracyuto dharmād vipadaṃ pratipadyate |
जो धर्मपथापासून ढळतो तो विपत्तीत पडतो. पुरुषार्थाची महती सांगितली जाते; तरीही दैववश सिद्धी न मिळाल्यास मनुष्य धैर्य सोडून धर्ममार्गापासून भरकटतो आणि दुर्दैवात अडकतो.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that abandoning dharma is itself the doorway to disaster: when success is obstructed (even by fate), losing moral discipline and turning away from righteous conduct leads directly to misfortune.
Sañjaya offers a reflective, ethical observation within the Sauptika Parva’s grim aftermath, framing the unfolding suffering as connected to deviation from dharma and the moral instability that can arise when efforts fail.