अथ वा भरतश्रेष्ठ निर्जित्य युधि पाण्डवान् ॥
राज्यांशं प्रतिदत्त्वा च सौभ्रात्रं कर्तुम् इच्छसि ॥
धन्यः कुन्तीसुतो राजा सुजाता चास्य धीमतः ॥
अजातशत्रुता सत्या तस्य यत् स्निह्यते भवान् ॥
atha vā bharataśreṣṭha nirjitya yudhi pāṇḍavān ||
rājyāṃśaṃ pratidattvā ca saubhrātraṃ kartum icchasi ||
dhanyaḥ kuntīsuto rājā sujātā cāsya dhīmataḥ ||
ajātaśatrutā satyā tasya yat snihyate bhavān ||
[Drona:] Or is it, O best of the Bharatas, that having conquered the Pandavas in battle and restored to them their share of the kingdom, you wish to establish brotherly concord? Blessed is King Yudhishthira, son of Kunti, and noble is the mind of that wise one; truly his name -- Ajatashatru, "he who has no enemy" -- is genuine, since even you show him goodwill.
10ac6816504a · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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Drona rises to the highest interpretation: perhaps Duryodhana wishes, having conquered, to restore the kingdom and be reconciled with his brothers. And he crowns this with a word about Yudhishthira's name -- "Ajatashatru," "one who has no enemy": since even an enemy shows him goodwill, his name is true. This thought runs deep: the righteous is known precisely by this, that he disarms enmity, turning a hater into one who bears goodwill. The verse teaches that true righteousness has no enemies, for it dissolves enmity by its very purity; that a name given for its meaning is fulfilled in the life of its bearer; and that a wise interpreter looks in events for the possibility of reconciliation, nourishing hope for good even where evil is ripening.