Shloka 95
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
न चेदिदं कर्म नरेन्द्र वन्ध्यं न चेद् भवेत् सुकृतं निष्फलं वा । इदं च तच्चाभिसमीक्ष्य नून॑ पराजयो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य साधु:
sañjaya uvāca |
na ced idaṃ karma narendra vandhyaṃ na ced bhavet sukṛtaṃ niṣphalaṃ vā |
idaṃ ca tac cābhisamīkṣya nūnaṃ parājayo dhārtarāṣṭrasya sādhuḥ ||
Sanjaya berkata: “Wahai raja, jika perbuatan jahat manusia tidak menjadi sia-sia, dan jika perbuatan baik tidak pernah tanpa buahnya yang wajar, maka—setelah meneliti dengan cermat tingkah laku sekarang dan apa yang telah dilakukan dahulu—aku dapat berkata dengan pasti bahawa kekalahan putera Dhritarashtra tidak dapat dielakkan; dan dalam kekalahan itu terletak kebaikan yang sebenar bagi dunia.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts moral causality: evil actions do not remain fruitless and good actions do not lose their reward. From this principle, Sañjaya infers that Duryodhana’s accumulated wrongdoing must culminate in defeat, which is presented as a salutary outcome for the wider world.
Sañjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and, reflecting on Duryodhana’s present and past conduct, predicts the inevitable defeat of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son. The statement functions as a grim ethical prognosis in the lead-up to the great conflict.