युधिष्ठिर उवाच
युद्धे जितं यशोहीनं स्त्रीनाथम् अपराक्रमम् ॥
को नु हन्याद् रिपुं त्वादृङ् मुञ्चेमं रिपुसूदन ॥
अर्जुन उवाच
अङ्गेमं प्रतिपद्यस्व गच्छ गन्धर्व मा शुचः ॥
प्रदिशत्य् अभयं ते ऽद्य कुरुराजो युधिष्ठिरः ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
yuddhe jitaṃ yaśohīnaṃ strīnātham aparākramam ||
ko nu hanyād ripuṃ tvādṛṅ muñcemaṃ ripusūdana ||
arjuna uvāca
aṅgemaṃ pratipadyasva gaccha gandharva mā śucaḥ ||
pradiśaty abhayaṃ te 'dya kururājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Yudhishthira said: "Who would slay such an enemy -- defeated in battle, stripped of glory, without valor, defended by his wife's plea? Release him, slayer of foes." Arjuna [said]: "Well then, accept your life, go, gandharva, do not grieve; the king of the Kurus, Yudhishthira, grants you fearlessness today."
5432e9594974 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:19:51 PM UTC
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Here the dharma of mercy toward the fallen shows itself. Yudhishthira's word is telling: one defeated, disgraced, for whom a wife pleads, ought not to be killed -- valor does not finish off the helpless. Here is nobility that spares one who has yielded: to kill a man already down is disgrace, not achievement. It is also telling how the brothers act as one: Yudhishthira commands, and Arjuna at once grants life. Thus the text shows that true victory is crowned with mercy; and the Pandavas, having overcome their enemy, turn him into one they have benefited.