त्रस्तान् कुन्तीसुतान् दृष्ट्वा द्रोणसायकपीडितान् ॥
मतिमाञ् श्रेयसे युक्तः केशवो ऽर्जुनम् अब्रवीत् ॥
नैष युद्धेन संग्रामे जेतुं शक्यः कथं चन ॥
अपि वृत्रहणा युद्धे रथयूथपयूथपः ॥
आस्थीयतां जये योगो धर्मम् उत्सृज्य पाण्डव ॥
यथा वः संयुगे सर्वान् न हन्याद् रुक्मवाहनः ॥
अश्वत्थाम्नि हते नैष युध्येद् इति मतिर् मम ॥
तं हतं संयुगे कश् चिद् अस्मै शंसतु मानवः ॥
trastān kuntīsutān dṛṣṭvā droṇasāyakapīḍitān ||
matimāñ śreyase yuktaḥ keśavo 'rjunam abravīt ||
naiṣa yuddhena saṃgrāme jetuṃ śakyaḥ kathaṃ cana ||
api vṛtrahaṇā yuddhe rathayūthapayūthapaḥ ||
āsthīyatāṃ jaye yogo dharmam utsṛjya pāṇḍava ||
yathā vaḥ saṃyuge sarvān na hanyād rukmavāhanaḥ ||
aśvatthāmni hate naiṣa yudhyed iti matir mama ||
taṃ hataṃ saṃyuge kaś cid asmai śaṃsatu mānavaḥ ||
Seeing the frightened sons of Kunti pressed by Drona's arrows, wise Keshava, devoted to their welfare, said to Arjuna: "This man cannot be conquered in battle in any way, not even by the Vritra-slayer [Indra] himself -- he is the leader of leaders of charioteers. Let a stratagem be resorted to for victory, abandoning dharma, O Pandava, so that he of the golden chariot may not slay all of you in the clash. If Ashvatthaman is slain, he will not fight -- such is my opinion; let someone tell him that he [Ashvatthaman] is slain in the clash."
be22c1cc47c0 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Krishna, for the sake of deliverance, counsels "abandoning dharma" -- resorting to a ruse: to make Drona believe his son is dead. It is telling that the Lord himself proposes deception before an insurmountable evil. The verse teaches that there is an extremity in which literal truth serves destruction, while a saving untruth serves the higher dharma; and the choice of means in such an hour is a grave trial of conscience, where even the righteous are compelled to cross the letter for the sake of the goal.