Shloka 26

भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः

Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify

Devanagari script

वाक्यं हित॑ च पथ्यं च मर्त्या: पथ्यमिवौषधम्‌ । पुत्राणां मतमाज्ञाय जितान्‌ मन्यसि पाण्डवान्‌,जैसे मरणासन्न मनुष्य हितकारी औषधको भी फेंक देते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपने हमलोगोंके कहे हुए लाभकारी और हितकर वचनोंको भी ठुकरा दिया एवं अब अपने पुत्रोंकी बातमें आकर यह मान रहे हैं कि हमने पाण्डवोंको जीत लिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vākyaṃ hitaṃ ca pathyaṃ ca martyāḥ pathyam ivauṣadham | putrāṇāṃ matam ājñāya jitān manyasi pāṇḍavān |

Translation

Wika ni Sañjaya: “Gaya ng mga taong malapit nang mamatay na itinatapon kahit ang mabuting gamot, gayon din itinakwil mo ang aming kapaki-pakinabang at may mabuting layuning payo. Ngayon, sa pagsunod sa pasya ng iyong mga anak, inaakala mong nagapi na ang mga Pāṇḍava.”

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'vākya': 'speech, statement, counsel', 'hita': 'beneficial, for one’s good', 'pathya': 'wholesome, salutary (especially in a medical/ethical sense: what is ‘fit’ and ‘good to follow’)', 'martya': 'mortal human being', 'iva': 'like, as', 'auṣadha': 'medicine, remedy', 'putrāṇām': 'of (your) sons', 'mata': 'opinion, view, counsel', 'ājñāya': 'having known/accepted, having taken into account', 'jitān': 'conquered, defeated', 'manyasi': 'you think, you suppose', 'pāṇḍavān': 'the Pāṇḍavas (sons of Pāṇḍu)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas
• sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Kauravas, implied)
• wholesome medicine (auṣadha, as a simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rejecting wholesome advice—especially in a crisis—leads to self-deception and ruin. True welfare (hita, pathya) may be unpleasant to hear, but it is like medicine: necessary for survival and right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya rebukes the king (contextually Dhṛtarāṣṭra) for ignoring well-intentioned counsel and instead adopting his sons’ view, which makes him believe prematurely that the Pāṇḍavas have been defeated.