Shloka 68

अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः

Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve

Devanagari script

एवमेतेन भाव्यं॑ हि नूनं कार्येण तत्त्वतः । यथा हास्येदृशी निष्ठा कृतकार्येडपि दुष्करे,“निश्चय ही इस कार्यसे ठीक ऐसा ही परिणाम होनेवाला था। हमलोगोंके द्वारा अत्यन्त दुष्कर कार्य किया गया तो भी इस युद्धका अन्तिम फल इस रूपमें प्रकट हुआ

Transliteration

evam etena bhāvyaṃ hi nūnaṃ kāryeṇa tattvataḥ | yathā hāsye dṛśī niṣṭhā kṛtakārye 'pi duṣkare ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Quả thật, đây hẳn đã được định sẵn như kết cục chân thực của việc này. Dẫu một việc vô cùng khó nhọc đã được hoàn thành, kết quả cuối cùng của cuộc chiến vẫn hiển lộ đúng như thế—ấy là lộ trình đã cố định.”

Word by Word

एवम्thus, in this manner

एतेनby this

भाव्यम्to be (inevitable), destined

हिindeed, for

नूनम्surely, certainly

कार्येणby the act/deed; by the undertaking

तत्त्वतःin truth, in reality

यथाas, just as

हindeed (emphatic particle)

अस्यof this

ईदृशीsuch, of this kind

निष्ठाend, outcome; firm conclusion

कृतकार्येeven when the task is accomplished

अपिeven, also

दुष्करेin/with what is difficult; in a hard matter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even extraordinary effort and success in a difficult undertaking do not guarantee a desired moral or practical outcome; events unfold according to a deeper chain of causes—often framed as destiny shaped by prior karma—so one must reflect on the ethical weight and consequences of actions, not merely their execution.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya comments on the grim turn of events at the end of the war: despite the completion of a very difficult enterprise, the final fruit has appeared in an unexpected or tragic form, implying that the outcome was, in essence, inevitable.