सर्वोपायैर् यतिष्यामि पाञ्चालानाम् अहं वधे ॥
धृष्टद्युम्नं च समरे हन्ताहं पापकारिणम् ॥
कर्मणा येन तेनेह मृदुना दारुणेन वा ॥
पाञ्चालानां वधं कृत्वा शान्तिं लब्धास्मि कौरव ॥
यदर्थं पुरुषव्याघ्र पुत्रम् इच्छन्ति मानवाः ॥
प्रेत्य चेह च संप्राप्तं त्राणाय महतो भयात् ॥
sarvopāyair yatiṣyāmi pāñcālānām ahaṃ vadhe ||
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca samare hantāhaṃ pāpakāriṇam ||
karmaṇā yena teneha mṛdunā dāruṇena vā ||
pāñcālānāṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā śāntiṃ labdhāsmi kaurava ||
yadarthaṃ puruṣavyāghra putram icchanti mānavāḥ ||
pretya ceha ca saṃprāptaṃ trāṇāya mahato bhayāt ||
"By all means I shall strive for the destruction of the Panchalas; and Dhrishtadyumna, the sinner, I shall slay in battle. By this deed or that — gentle or terrible — having wrought the destruction of the Panchalas, I shall gain peace, O Kaurava. For that very purpose, O tiger among men, do people desire a son — obtained both hereafter and here — for protection from great fear."
bce2ab1ab1fb · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Ashvatthaman vows to annihilate the Panchalas "by any means — gentle or terrible": vengeance sweeps aside any weighing of paths. It is telling that he then speaks of the very purpose of a son — to save his father "here and beyond the grave": he conceives of his bloody vow as filial duty. The verse teaches that even a sacred feeling, turned to obsession, justifies to itself any means; and a vow of "every means," having cast off the distinction between good and evil, leads not to peace but to a new abyss.