Shloka 166
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
(यदाश्रौषं तीर्थयात्राप्रवृत्तं पाण्डो: सुतं सहितं लोमशेन । तस्मादश्रौषीदर्जुनस्या रर्थला भं तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय ।।) यदाश्रौष॑ वैश्रवणेन सार्ध समागतं भीममन्यांश्व पार्थान् । तस्मिन् देशे मानुषाणामगम्ये तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय,जब मैंने सुना कि पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिर महर्षि लोमशजीके साथ तीर्थयात्रा कर रहे हैं और लोमशजीके मुखसे ही उन्होंने यह भी सुना है कि स्वर्गमें अर्जुनको अभीष्ट वस्तु (दिव्यास्त्र)-की प्राप्ति हो गयी है, संजय! तभीसे मैंने विजयकी आशा ही छोड़ दी। जब मैंने सुना कि भीमसेन तथा दूसरे भाई उस देशमें जाकर, जहाँ मनुष्योंकी गति नहीं है, कुबेरके साथ मेल-मिलाप कर आये, संजय! तभी मैंने विजयकी आशा छोड़ दी थी
yadāśrauṣaṃ tīrthayātrāpravṛttaṃ pāṇḍoḥ sutaṃ sahitaṃ lomaśena | tasmād aśrauṣīd arjunasya arthalābhaṃ tadā nāśaṃse vijayāya saṃjaya || yadāśrauṣaṃ vaiśravaṇena sārdhaṃ samāgataṃ bhīmam anyāṃś ca pārthān | tasmin deśe mānuṣāṇām agamye tadā nāśaṃse vijayāya saṃjaya ||
Quando ouvi que o filho de Pāṇḍu, acompanhado do sábio Lomaśa, partira em peregrinação aos lugares sagrados, e depois soube—pela própria boca de Lomaśa—que Arjuna alcançara no céu o que desejava, a saber, as armas divinas, ó Saṃjaya, desde esse momento deixei de esperar a vitória. E quando ouvi que Bhīma e os demais filhos de Pṛthā haviam ido àquela região inacessível aos homens e se encontraram com Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera), ó Saṃjaya, então também abandonei a esperança de vencer.
Educational Q&A
Spiritual merit (tīrthayātrā), divine support, and disciplined striving (such as Arjuna’s acquisition of divyāstras) are portrayed as signs that dharma-backed protagonists gain an advantage that mere worldly power cannot easily overcome; recognizing such signs reshapes one’s confidence about victory.
The speaker tells Saṃjaya that hearing of the Pāṇḍavas’ extraordinary attainments—Yudhiṣṭhira’s pilgrimage with Lomaśa, Arjuna’s gaining divine weapons in heaven, and Bhīma and the brothers meeting Kubera in an inaccessible region—made him abandon hope of victory against them.