यस्मिन् यत्नः कृतो ऽस्माभिः स नो हीनः प्रयत्नतः ॥
अकृते तु प्रयत्ने ऽस्मान् उपावृत्तः कलिर् महान् ॥
कथं ह्य् अवध्यैः संग्रामः कार्यः सह भविष्यति ॥
कथं हत्वा गुरून् वृद्धान् विजयो नो भविष्यति ॥
तच् छ्रुत्वा धर्मराजस्य सव्यसाची परंतपः ॥
यद् उक्तं वासुदेवेन श्रावयाम् आस तद् वचः ॥
उक्तवान् देवकीपुत्रः कुन्त्याश् च विदुरस्य च ॥
वचनं तत् त्वया राजन् निखिलेनावधारितम् ॥
न च तौ वक्ष्यतो ऽधर्मम् इति मे नैष्ठिकी मतिः ॥
न चापि युक्तं कौन्तेय निवर्तितुम् अयुध्यतः ॥
yasmin yatnaḥ kṛto 'smābhiḥ sa no hīnaḥ prayatnataḥ ||
akṛte tu prayatne 'smān upāvṛttaḥ kalir mahān ||
kathaṃ hy avadhyaiḥ saṃgrāmaḥ kāryaḥ saha bhaviṣyati ||
kathaṃ hatvā gurūn vṛddhān vijayo no bhaviṣyati ||
tac chrutvā dharmarājasya savyasācī paraṃtapaḥ ||
yad uktaṃ vāsudevena śrāvayām āsa tad vacaḥ ||
uktavān devakīputraḥ kuntyāś ca vidurasya ca ||
vacanaṃ tat tvayā rājan nikhilenāvadhāritam ||
na ca tau vakṣyato 'dharmam iti me naiṣṭhikī matiḥ ||
na cāpi yuktaṃ kaunteya nivartitum ayudhyataḥ ||
"That for which we made effort has now, despite our striving, been lost to us; and since the effort did not reach its goal, great discord has returned to us. How indeed will battle with those who should not be slain be possible? How will victory be ours after slaying our teachers and elders?" Having heard the words of the king of dharma, Savyasachin, the scorcher of foes, reminded him of what Vasudeva had said: "The son of Devaki conveyed the words of Kunti and Vidura, and you, O king, have fully grasped them. I hold it as my firm conviction that those two would not have spoken adharma. And, O Kaunteya, it is not fitting to turn back without fighting."
40bec9eb56c4 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:17:52 AM UTC
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Here Yudhishthira once again tests the decision for war through dharma: his question is not about advantage, but about how to act without falling from his duty. Krishna's answer and Arjuna's reminder show that peace was exhausted not through any weakness of effort, but through Duryodhana's conscious rejection of dharma; thus the battle becomes not a desire for violence, but the inevitable fulfillment of responsibility.