Mahabharata 9.3.57 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 3, Shloka 57

अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः

Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

न युद्धधर्माच्छेयान्‌ हि पन्था: स्वर्गस्थ कौरवा:

Transliteration

na yuddhadharmāc chreyān hi panthāḥ svargastha kauravāḥ

Translation

โอ้เหล่ากุรุผู้ถึงสวรรค์แล้ว แท้จริงไม่มีหนทางใดประเสริฐยิ่งไปกว่าธรรมแห่งการศึก

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• युद्धधर्मात्: from the duty/law of battle
• युद्धधर्मात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्धधर्म
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• श्रेयान्: better
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेयस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• पन्थाः: path/way
• पन्थाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पथिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्वर्गस्थ: O you who are in heaven
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्गस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

• कौरवाः: O Kauravas
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौरव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kauravas
• Svarga (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts the primacy of yuddhadharma (righteous conduct and duty in battle) for warriors: when war is unavoidable and undertaken within dharma, steadfastness in one’s ordained duty is presented as a supremely beneficial path, even linked with heavenly attainment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events and their moral framing, addresses the Kauravas as “svargastha” (those who have reached heaven), implying their death in battle and subsequent heavenly state, and he characterizes their chosen course as aligned with the warrior’s dharma.