Shloka 86

Duryodhana-vadha-pratikriyā: Harṣa, Nindā, and Kṛṣṇa’s Nīti-vyākhyā (Śalya-parva 60)

Devanagari script

आश्रितस्य तु दौर्बल्यादाश्रय: परिभर्त्स्यते । महाराज! फिर बलदेवजीने कहा--“श्रीकृष्ण! राजा दुर्योधन मेरे समान बलवान था। गदायुद्धमें उसकी समानता करनेवाला कोई नहीं था। यहाँ अन्याय करके केवल दुर्योधन ही नहीं गिराया गया है, (मेरा भी अपमान किया गया है) शरणागतकी दुर्बलताके कारण शरण देनेवालेका तिरस्कार किया जा रहा है'

Transliteration

āśritasya tu daurbalyād āśrayaḥ paribhartsyate | mahārāja |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai maharaja, kerana kelemahan orang yang telah mencari perlindungan, maka pelindung yang memberi perlindungan itu sendiri dicela dan dihina.” Baris ini membingkai suatu bantahan moral: apabila orang yang bergantung itu disakiti atau dipermalukan, aibnya berbalik menimpa pihak yang menjadi sandaran, lalu etika perlindungan dan kesetiaan pun dipersoalkan di hadapan khalayak.

Word by Word

• {'āśritasya': 'of one who has taken shelter

• of a dependent/protégé', 'tu': 'but

• indeed (emphatic particle)', 'daurbalyāt': 'because of weakness, infirmity, helplessness', 'āśrayaḥ': 'shelter, support

• protector, patron', 'paribhartsyate': 'will be censured/reproached/insulted

• will be treated with contempt', 'mahārāja': 'O great king (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic principle: the protector (āśraya) bears moral and reputational responsibility for the fate of the one who depends on him (āśrita). If the dependent is brought low due to helplessness, the protector is blamed—implying that true protection must include safeguarding honor and fair treatment, not merely offering nominal shelter.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports a charged moral complaint addressed to the king: the humiliation or defeat of a sheltered party is being used to reproach the very patron who supported him. In the Shalya Parva context, this functions as commentary on contested fairness and honor in the climactic combats, where outcomes are judged not only by victory but by the ethics of how victory is obtained.