Shloka 24
स्वर्मेण जिता लोका: को नु स्वन्ततरो मया । दिष्ट्या नाहं जित: संख्ये परान् प्रेष्यवदाश्रित:
svarmeṇa jitā lokāḥ ko nu svantataro mayā | diṣṭyā nāhaṃ jitaḥ saṅkhye parān preṣyavad āśritaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Dengan kelakuanku sendiri aku telah menaklukkan alam-alam syurga—siapakah yang lebih menguasai diri daripada aku? Dengan keberuntungan, aku tidak pernah dikalahkan di medan perang, dan tidak pula dijatuhkan hingga hidup bergantung pada orang lain seperti seorang hamba.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links true victory to dharma and self-mastery: one who lives by one’s own righteous conduct ‘wins the worlds’ and preserves dignity, whereas defeat is not only military loss but also the humiliation of dependence like a servant.
Sañjaya reflects on his own condition amid the war’s turmoil, expressing relief that he has not been defeated in combat nor forced into servile dependence on others, and he frames this as a fruit of living by proper conduct (svadharma).