Shloka 12
सौप्तिकपर्व — धृष्टद्युम्नसारथिवृत्तान्तः
Report of the Night Raid and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament
अनर्थों हुर्थसंकाशस्तथानर्थो<र्थदर्शन: । जयो5यमजयाकारो जयस्तस्मात् पराजय:,“कभी-कभी अनर्थ भी अर्थ-सा हो जाता है और अर्थके रूपमें दिखायी देनेवाली वस्तु भी अनर्थके रूपमें परिणत हो जाती है, इसी प्रकार हमारी यह विजय भी पराजयका ही रूप धारण करके आयी थी, इसलिये जय भी पराजय बन गयी
anartho hy arthasaṅkāśas tathānartho 'rthadarśanaḥ | jayo 'yam ajayākāro jayas tasmāt parājayaḥ ||
Sūta berkata: Malapetaka kadang-kadang tampak seperti keuntungan, dan apa yang kelihatan sebagai keuntungan boleh berubah menjadi malapetaka. Demikian juga, ‘kemenangan’ kita ini datang dengan rupa kekalahan; maka kemenangan pun menjadi kekalahan.
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
Apparent success and apparent benefit can be deceptive: what seems like gain may conceal harm, and what seems like harm may reveal a deeper truth. Ethically, a victory achieved through adharma or followed by grievous consequences can ripen into defeat.
In the Sauptika Parva context—after the night massacre and its aftermath—the narrator reflects on the bitter irony that the Kauravas’ ‘victory’ has effectively turned into ruin. The line frames the unfolding events as a reversal where triumph carries the shape and outcome of defeat.