वयं तु यदि दाहस्य बिभ्यतः प्रद्रवेम हि ॥
स्पशैर् नो घातयेत् सार्वान् राज्यलुब्धः सुयोधनः ॥
अपदस्थान् पदे तिष्ठन्न् अपक्षान् पक्षसंस्थितः ॥
हीनकोशान् महाकोशः प्रयोगैर् घातयेद् ध्रुवम् ॥
तद् अस्माभिर् इमं पापं तं च पापं सुयोधनम् ॥
वञ्चयद्भिर् निवस्तव्यं छन्नवासं क्व चित् क्व चित् ॥
vayaṃ tu yadi dāhasya bibhyataḥ pradravema hi ||
spaśair no ghātayet sārvān rājyalubdhaḥ suyodhanaḥ ||
apadasthān pade tiṣṭhann apakṣān pakṣasaṃsthitaḥ ||
hīnakośān mahākośaḥ prayogair ghātayed dhruvam ||
tad asmābhir imaṃ pāpaṃ taṃ ca pāpaṃ suyodhanam ||
vañcayadbhir nivastavyaṃ channavāsaṃ kva cit kva cit ||
"And if we, fearing the fire, should flee openly, Suyodhana, greedy for the kingdom, would have us all killed by his spies. He, vested with power — us, powerless; having supporters — us, without supporters; he, with a great treasury — us, destitute of treasury — would surely destroy by his devices. Therefore we, deceiving this wicked man and that wicked Suyodhana, must live in hiding, in secret refuge — now here, now there."
499ffe791c49 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:03:09 PM UTC
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Here Yudhishthira sees with full clarity the whole inequality of forces. His sober reckoning is significant: the enemy holds power, supporters, and treasury, while they are exiles stripped of everything; open confrontation would be ruin. Here is the wisdom of one who yields where he is weaker: when the enemy surpasses in everything, the righteous person must choose not rashness but cunning and concealment, until the hour comes. It is significant that Yudhishthira chooses the path of secrecy and deceiving the enemy — and this does not stain his dharma: to deceive a murderous schemer for the sake of saving the innocent is not sin but defense. Here a distinction is drawn: falsehood for the sake of evil is sin, while concealment for the sake of escaping murderers is a permitted apad-dharma [law for times of distress]. Thus the scripture shows the prudence of the righteous in a time of powerlessness: to wait, to hide, to outwit — and thereby preserve oneself for the future triumph of dharma.