अप्रज्ञो वा पाण्डव युध्यमानो; अधर्मज्ञो वा भूतिपथाद् व्यपैति ॥
प्रज्ञावान् वा बुध्यमानो ऽपि धर्मं; संरम्भाद् वा सो ऽपि भूतेर् अपैति ॥
नाधर्मे ते धीयते पार्थ बुद्धिर्; न संरम्भात् कर्म चकर्थ पापम् ॥
अद्धा किं तत् कारणं यस्य हेतोः; प्रज्ञाविरुद्धं कर्म चिकीर्षसीदम् ॥
अव्याधिजं कटुकं शीर्षरोगं; यशोमुषं पापफलोदयं च ॥
सतां पेयं यन् न पिबन्त्य् असन्तो; मन्युं महाराज पिब प्रशाम्य ॥
पापानुबन्धं को नु तं कामयेत; क्षमैव ते ज्यायसी नोत भोगाः ॥
यत्र भीष्मः शांतनवो हतः स्याद्; यत्र द्रोणः सहपुत्रो हतः स्यात् ॥
कृपः शल्यः सौमदत्तिर् विकर्णो; विविंशतिः कर्णदुर्योधनौ च ॥
एतान् हत्वा कीदृशं तत् सुखं स्याद्; यद् विन्देथास् तद् अनुब्रूहि पार्थ ॥
aprajño vā pāṇḍava yudhyamāno; adharmajño vā bhūtipathād vyapaiti ||
prajñāvān vā budhyamāno 'pi dharmaṃ; saṃrambhād vā so 'pi bhūter apaiti ||
nādharme te dhīyate pārtha buddhir; na saṃrambhāt karma cakartha pāpam ||
addhā kiṃ tat kāraṇaṃ yasya hetoḥ; prajñāviruddhaṃ karma cikīrṣasīdam ||
avyādhijaṃ kaṭukaṃ śīrṣarogaṃ; yaśomuṣaṃ pāpaphalodayaṃ ca ||
satāṃ peyaṃ yan na pibanty asanto; manyuṃ mahārāja piba praśāmya ||
pāpānubandhaṃ ko nu taṃ kāmayeta; kṣamaiva te jyāyasī nota bhogāḥ ||
yatra bhīṣmaḥ śāṃtanavo hataḥ syād; yatra droṇaḥ sahaputro hataḥ syāt ||
kṛpaḥ śalyaḥ saumadattir vikarṇo; viviṃśatiḥ karṇaduryodhanau ca ||
etān hatvā kīdṛśaṃ tat sukhaṃ syād; yad vindethās tad anubrūhi pārtha ||
Why have you weakened your friends? Why did you dwell in the forest for years? Why do you now wish to fight, having let the fitting occasion slip by? An unwise or unrighteous man may achieve prosperity through strife; but a wise and righteous man, were he to give way to the pride ready for battle against his better instinct, would only turn aside from the path of prosperity. O son of Pṛthā, your mind does not incline toward the unrighteous path; never out of anger have you committed a sinful deed. What, then, is the cause, what is the reason, that you are now resolved to commit this deed against the counsel of wisdom? Anger, O mighty king, is a bitter medicine, though it springs from no disease; it brings on headaches, robs a man of his rightful fame, and leads to sinful deeds. It is drunk — that is, mastered — by the righteous, not by the unrighteous. I beg you to swallow it and refrain from war. Who would give himself over to an anger that leads to sin?
aa911b06d792 · published Jul 17, 2026, 3:43:08 AM UTC
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This passage (5.27.21-25) develops the central theme of the Udyoga-parva: the effort toward peace unfolds against the backdrop of an already inevitable war. Key themes: the Pāṇḍavas, Duryodhana, Karṇa, Bhīṣma, dharma. Dharma here is revealed through speech, through the choice of an embassy, through fidelity to one's word, and through a king's responsibility for the consequences of his decision.