Shloka 64
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
जीवन प्राप्नोति पुरुष: संख्ये जयपराजयौ । मृतस्य तु हृषीकेश भड़ एव कुतो जय:
sañjaya uvāca | jīvan prāpnoti puruṣaḥ saṅkhye jayaparājayau | mṛtasya tu hṛṣīkeśa bhaṅga eva kuto jayaḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Enquanto um homem vive, na batalha pode encontrar tanto vitória quanto derrota. Mas para aquele que está morto, ó Hṛṣīkeśa, há apenas destruição — como poderia a vitória pertencer-lhe?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory and defeat are meaningful only for the living who can still act and bear consequences; death ends agency and outcomes, leaving only ruin. The verse underscores the ethical urgency of preserving life and recognizing the finality of death amid the pursuit of martial success.
Sañjaya reports a reflection addressed to Kṛṣṇa (Hṛṣīkeśa) in the context of the battlefield: he contrasts the living warrior, who may still experience changing fortunes, with the dead, for whom no ‘victory’ remains possible—only destruction.