ते यूयं धर्मम् उत्सृज्य जयं रक्षत पाण्डवाः ॥
यथा वः संयुगे सर्वान् न हन्याद् रुक्मवाहनः ॥
अश्वत्थाम्नि हते नैष युध्येद् इति मतिर् मम ॥
हतं तं संयुगे कश् चिद् आख्यात्व् अस्मै मृषा नरः ॥
एतन् नारोचयद् वाक्यं कुन्तीपुत्रो धनंजयः ॥
अरोचयंस् तु सर्वे ऽन्ये कृच्छ्रेण तु युधिष्ठिरः ॥
te yūyaṃ dharmam utsṛjya jayaṃ rakṣata pāṇḍavāḥ ||
yathā vaḥ saṃyuge sarvān na hanyād rukmavāhanaḥ ||
aśvatthāmni hate naiṣa yudhyed iti matir mama ||
hataṃ taṃ saṃyuge kaś cid ākhyātv asmai mṛṣā naraḥ ||
etan nārocayad vākyaṃ kuntīputro dhanaṃjayaḥ ||
arocayaṃs tu sarve 'nye kṛcchreṇa tu yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
"'You, having cast aside dharma, preserve victory, O Pandavas, so that Rukmavahana [the golden-charioted Drona] may not slay all of you in battle. When Ashvatthaman is slain, he will not fight on -- such is my opinion; let someone falsely tell him that he has been slain in battle.' Dhananjaya [Arjuna], the son of Kunti, did not approve this speech; but all the others approved it, and Yudhishthira did so with difficulty."
9797a735958f · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Krishna openly calls to "cast aside dharma for the sake of victory," and here the poem's heaviest knot is laid bare. It is telling that Arjuna rejects the stratagem while Yudhishthira consents "with difficulty": conscience resists, but necessity and the fear of annihilation prevail. The verse teaches that there are crossroads where every choice wounds; and the righteous one's consent to untruth "with great reluctance" is not a justification of the lie but a testimony to how dearly departure from duty costs, even under the pressure of a higher will.