Mahabharata 7.185.33 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 185, Shloka 33
स्वभावाद् या च मे प्रीति: सहदेवे जनार्दन । सैव मे परमा प्रीती राक्षसेन्द्रे घटोत्कचे,'जनार्दन! सहदेवपर जो मेरा स्वाभाविक प्रेम है, वही उत्तम प्रेम राक्षसराज घटोत्कचपर भी रहा है
svabhāvād yā ca me prītiḥ sahadeve janārdana | saiva me paramā prītī rākṣasendre ghaṭotkace ||
சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—“ஓ ஜனார்தனா! சகதேவனிடம் எனக்கு இயல்பாக உள்ள அன்பே, ராக்ஷசேந்திரன் கடோத்கசனிடமும் எனக்கு உன்னதமான அன்பாக இருந்தது.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that genuine affection can arise from one’s innate disposition (svabhāva) and may extend beyond social categories—here, from a Pāṇḍava prince (Sahadeva) to a Rākṣasa hero (Ghaṭotkaca). It implicitly values personal virtue and bonds over mere birth or species, a recurring ethical undercurrent in the epic.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addresses Kṛṣṇa as Janārdana and remarks on his own natural fondness: the same affection he feels for Sahadeva is also directed, in an eminent degree, toward Ghaṭotkaca—signaling Ghaṭotkaca’s importance and the emotional weight surrounding his role in the war.
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