Shloka 50
भीष्मशिबिरगमनम् — Duryodhana’s Visit to Bhīṣma’s Camp and the Command Appeal
पश्य वीर यथा होष फाल्गुनस्य सुतो बली । मायावी विप्रियं कर्तुमकार्षीन्मे बलक्षयम्
sañjaya uvāca | paśya vīra yathā hoṣa phālgunasya suto balī | māyāvī vipriyaṃ kartum akārsīn me balakṣayam ||
Sañjaya thưa: Duryodhana nói: “Hãy nhìn đi, hỡi dũng sĩ! Con trai hùng mạnh của Phālguna (Arjuna) hành động đầy mưu mẹo, lắm kế sách. Chỉ để làm điều trái ý ta, hắn đã khiến quân ta bị tàn sát.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, opponents often label effective strategy as “māyā” (craft/deception) and interpret battlefield losses through personal grievance. Ethically, it points to the tension between kṣatriya duty (winning through skill) and the moral discomfort that arises when tactics feel unfair to the losing side.
Sañjaya reports a complaint directed to a warrior: the speaker points to Arjuna’s son (Abhimanyu) as a powerful, cunning fighter who has caused heavy losses—‘the destruction of my forces’—and frames it as an intentional act to cause personal displeasure.