Shloka 223
प्रियेभ्य: प्रकृतं साधु को नु स्वन्ततरो मया । “दूसरे राष्ट्रोपर आक्रमण किया और कितने ही राजाओंसे दासकी भाँति सेवाएँ लीं। जो अपने प्रिय व्यक्ति थे
priyebhyaḥ prakṛtaṃ sādhu ko nu svantataro mayā |
سنجے نے کہا— “میں نے دوسرے ملکوں پر چڑھائی کی اور بہت سے بادشاہوں سے غلاموں کی طرح خدمت لی؛ پھر بھی اپنے عزیزوں کے ساتھ ہمیشہ بھلائی کی—تو مجھ سے بہتر انجام کس کا ہو سکتا ہے؟”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral self-assessment at the end of life: a person may justify harsh political actions (conquest and subjugation) by appealing to loyalty and beneficence toward one’s own loved ones, raising the ethical tension between private virtue and public wrongdoing.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s reflective claim about his life and end: despite having waged aggressive campaigns and forced other rulers into servitude, he asserts that he consistently did good to his own dear ones and therefore considers his end unsurpassed.