Mahabharata 7.154.12 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 154, Shloka 12
घटोत्कच-कर्णयुद्धम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Karna Combat and the Release of Śakti
'शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले द्रोणाचार्यने सिंधुराजको अभय-दान देकर भी किरीटधारी अर्जुनको व्यूहमें घुसनेका मार्ग दे दिया। देखो, मुझमें कितनी गुणहीनता है ।।
yady adāsyad anu-jñāṁ vai pūrvam eva gṛhān prati | prasthātuṁ sindhurājasya nābhaviṣyaj jana-kṣayaḥ ||
สัญชัยกล่าวว่า: หากทุรโยธน์อนุญาตให้กษัตริย์แห่งสินธุเดินทางกลับบ้านตั้งแต่ก่อนแล้ว ความพินาศแห่งผู้คนอันใหญ่หลวงเช่นนี้ย่อมไม่บังเกิด.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality in war: a leader’s earlier choice to permit de-escalation (letting an ally withdraw) could have prevented large-scale loss of life, implying accountability for avoidable violence.
Sañjaya reflects that if the Sindhu king (Jayadratha) had been allowed to leave earlier, the ensuing chain of events leading to heavy casualties would not have unfolded; it is a retrospective lament over a preventable massacre.
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