मातुः कुलं पितृकुलं यत्र चैव प्रदीयते ॥
कुलत्रयं संशयितं कुरुते कन्यका सताम् ॥
देवमानुषलोकौ द्वौ मानसेनैव चक्षुषा ॥
अवगाह्यैव विचितौ न च मे रोचते वरः ॥
न देवान् नैव दितिजान् न गन्धर्वान् न मानुषान् ॥
अरोचयं वरकृते तथैव बहुलान् ऋषीन् ॥
भार्यया तु स संमन्त्र्य सह रात्रौ सुधर्मया ॥
मातलिर् नागलोकाय चकार गमने मतिम् ॥
न मे देवमनुष्येषु गुणकेश्याः समो वरः ॥
रूपतो दृश्यते कश् चिन् नागेषु भविता ध्रुवम् ॥
mātuḥ kulaṃ pitṛkulaṃ yatra caiva pradīyate ||
kulatrayaṃ saṃśayitaṃ kurute kanyakā satām ||
devamānuṣalokau dvau mānasenaiva cakṣuṣā ||
avagāhyaiva vicitau na ca me rocate varaḥ ||
na devān naiva ditijān na gandharvān na mānuṣān ||
arocayaṃ varakṛte tathaiva bahulān ṛṣīn ||
bhāryayā tu sa saṃmantrya saha rātrau sudharmayā ||
mātalir nāgalokāya cakāra gamane matim ||
na me devamanuṣyeṣu guṇakeśyāḥ samo varaḥ ||
rūpato dṛśyate kaś cin nāgeṣu bhavitā dhruvam ||
"We did not break our promise, firmly trusting that our father would also keep his word. That we did not break our word is well known to the Brahmins who were with us. And just as we, O bull of the Bharata race, kept our promise, so you too must keep yours. For a long time we endured the greatest suffering, but let us now receive our share of the kingdom. Since you are well versed in virtue and gain, it falls to you to save us. Knowing that our obedience depends on you, we bore much suffering without complaint. Treat us as a father or brother would. A teacher must behave as a teacher toward his students, and as students we are ready to behave in the same way toward you, our teacher. So deal with us as befits a teacher. If we act wrongly, it is our father's duty to correct us. Therefore set us upon the path, and walk yourself the excellent path of righteousness.' These sons of yours, O bull of the Bharata race, also spoke these words to the kings assembled in the court: 'If the members of an assembly are versed in morality, nothing reprehensible ought to occur among them. Where, in the presence of virtuous members of an assembly, righteousness seeks to be overcome by unrighteousness and truth by falsehood, those very members are themselves overcome and slain. When righteousness, pierced by unrighteousness, seeks the protection of an assembly, and the arrow is not drawn out, that arrow pierces the members themselves. Indeed, in such a case righteousness slays the members of that assembly, as a river devours the roots of the trees on its bank.' Judge now, O bull of the Bharata race. The Pandavas, their eyes fixed on righteousness and weighing everything with care, maintain a calm bearing, and what they have said accords with truth, virtue, and justice. O ruler of men, what can you say to them except that you are ready to return their kingdom to them? Let these rulers of the earth who sit here speak — what ought the answer to be! If it seems to you that what I have said, after due reflection upon virtue, is true, save all these kshatriyas, O bull of the Bharata race, from the snares of death.
917bf1e940df · publicado 17 jul 2026, 5:18:56 UTC
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This passage develops the central theme of the Udyoga-parva: the effort toward peace unfolding against the backdrop of an unavoidable war. Key theme: dharma. Dharma reveals itself here through speech, through the choice of an envoy, through fidelity to promises, and through the kings' responsibility for the consequences of their decisions.