वैशंपायन उवाच
समवेतेषु सर्वेषु तेषु राजसु भारत ॥
दुर्योधनम् इदं वाक्यं भीष्मः शांतनवो ऽब्रवीत् ॥
बृहस्पतिश् चोशना च ब्रह्माणं पर्युपस्थितौ ॥
मरुतश् च सहेन्द्रेण वसवश् च सहाश्विनौ ॥
आदित्याश् चैव साध्याश् च ये च सप्तर्षयो दिवि ॥
विश्वावसुश् च गन्धर्वः शुभाश् चाप्सरसां गणाः ॥
नमस्कृत्वोपजग्मुस् ते लोकवृद्धं पितामहम् ॥
परिवार्य च विश्वेशं पर्यासत दिवौकसः ॥
तेषां मनश् च तेजश् चाप्य् आददानौ दिवौकसाम् ॥
पूर्वदेवौ व्यतिक्रान्तौ नरनारायणाव् ऋषी ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
samaveteṣu sarveṣu teṣu rājasu bhārata ||
duryodhanam idaṃ vākyaṃ bhīṣmaḥ śāṃtanavo 'bravīt ||
bṛhaspatiś cośanā ca brahmāṇaṃ paryupasthitau ||
marutaś ca sahendreṇa vasavaś ca sahāśvinau ||
ādityāś caiva sādhyāś ca ye ca saptarṣayo divi ||
viśvāvasuś ca gandharvaḥ śubhāś cāpsarasāṃ gaṇāḥ ||
namaskṛtvopajagmus te lokavṛddhaṃ pitāmaham ||
parivārya ca viśveśaṃ paryāsata divaukasaḥ ||
teṣāṃ manaś ca tejaś cāpy ādadānau divaukasām ||
pūrvadevau vyatikrāntau naranārāyaṇāv ṛṣī ||
Dhritarashtra said: 'I ask you, Sanjaya, in the presence of my boy and these kings, what words the illustrious Dhananjaya spoke — mighty, undiminished, this leader of warriors, this destroyer of the lives of the wicked?' Sanjaya said: 'Let Duryodhana hear the words that the high-souled Arjuna, eager for battle, spoke with Yudhishthira's leave and in the presence of Keshava. Fearless in battle and conscious of the power of his weapons, the heroic Kiritin, eager for battle, spoke thus to me in the presence of Vasudeva: "Tell this, O Suta, to the son of Dhritarashtra in the presence of all the Kurus, and also in the presence of that Suta's son, foul of tongue and evil of soul, feeble of mind, dull of wit, and with his days numbered, who ever desires to fight against me — and let it also be heard by those kings gathered for battle against the Pandavas; and see that all the words I now speak are heard clearly by this king and his counselors." O king, just as the celestials listened eagerly to the words of their thunderbolt-wielding chief, so did the Pandavas and the Srinjayas listen to these weighty words spoken by Kiritin. These are the words spoken by Arjuna, wielder of the Gandiva, eager for battle, his eyes red as the lotus: "If the son of Dhritarashtra does not yield his kingdom to King Yudhishthira of the line of Ajamidha, then there must surely be some sinful deed committed by the sons of Dhritarashtra whose consequences they have not yet reaped, for there can be no other reason why they desire battle with Bhimasena, and Arjuna, and the Ashvins, and Vasudeva, and the son of Sini, and Dhrishtadyumna unfailing in arms, and Shikhandin, and Yudhishthira, who is like Indra himself and who could consume heaven and earth merely by wishing them ill. That bed of sorrow in the forest, which was Yudhishthira's while this virtuous son of Pandu lived in exile — oh, may a bed still more painful than that, upon the bare earth, now be Duryodhana's, and may he lie upon it lifeless, as his last. Draw over to the side of the son of Pandu — endowed with modesty, wisdom, and asceticism, with self-restraint, and with valor governed by virtue — those very men whom the wicked Duryodhana ruled through unjust conduct."'
dc08ea931899 · published Jul 17, 2026, 4:31:17 AM UTC
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This passage (5.48.1–5) develops the central theme of the Udyoga-parva: the effort toward peace unfolds against the backdrop of an already inevitable war. Key figures: Duryodhana, Bhishma. Dharma is revealed here through speech, through the choice of embassy, through fidelity to one's word, and through the responsibility kings bear for the consequences of their decisions.