पापः क्षत्रियधर्मो ऽयं वयं च क्षत्रबान्धवाः ॥
स नः स्वधर्मो ऽधर्मो वा वृत्तिर् अन्या विगर्हिता ॥
शूद्रः करोति शुश्रूषां वैश्या विपणिजीविनः ॥
वयं वधेन जीवामः कपालं ब्राह्मणैर् वृतम् ॥
क्षत्रियः क्षत्रियं हन्ति मत्स्यो मत्स्येन जीवति ॥
श्वा श्वानं हन्ति दाशार्ह पश्य धर्मो यथागतः ॥
युद्धे कृष्ण कलिर् नित्यं प्राणाः सीदन्ति संयुगे ॥
बलं तु नीतिमात्राय हठे जयपराजयौ ॥
नात्मच्छन्देन भूतानां जीवितं मरणं तथा ॥
नाप्य् अकाले सुखं प्राप्यं दुःखं वापि यदूत्तम ॥
pāpaḥ kṣatriyadharmo 'yaṃ vayaṃ ca kṣatrabāndhavāḥ ||
sa naḥ svadharmo 'dharmo vā vṛttir anyā vigarhitā ||
śūdraḥ karoti śuśrūṣāṃ vaiśyā vipaṇijīvinaḥ ||
vayaṃ vadhena jīvāmaḥ kapālaṃ brāhmaṇair vṛtam ||
kṣatriyaḥ kṣatriyaṃ hanti matsyo matsyena jīvati ||
śvā śvānaṃ hanti dāśārha paśya dharmo yathāgataḥ ||
yuddhe kṛṣṇa kalir nityaṃ prāṇāḥ sīdanti saṃyuge ||
balaṃ tu nītimātrāya haṭhe jayaparājayau ||
nātmacchandena bhūtānāṃ jīvitaṃ maraṇaṃ tathā ||
nāpy akāle sukhaṃ prāpyaṃ duḥkhaṃ vāpi yadūttama ||
"This warrior's duty is a sinful one, and we ourselves are kinsmen of the kshatriyas; yet it is our own dharma — be it righteousness or unrighteousness — for any other way of life is condemned for us. The shudra performs service; the vaishyas live by trade; we live by slaying, surrounded by brahmanas over a skull-bowl. A kshatriya kills a kshatriya; a fish lives on a fish; a dog kills a dog, O Dasharha — behold, this is the shape dharma has taken! In war, O Krishna, discord reigns always; in combat, lives falter. Strength serves only to keep a semblance of order; in a forcible struggle, victory and defeat come as they will. Neither the life nor the death of any creature is by its own choosing, and neither happiness nor sorrow can be had before its time, O best of the Yadus."
b109cf7459cd · प्रकाशित 17 जुल॰ 2026, 4:56:09 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
This passage develops the central theme of the Udyoga-parva: the effort toward peace unfolds even as war draws near and seems unavoidable. Key themes: Krishna, war. Dharma here comes to light through speech, the choice of envoys, faithfulness to promises, and the responsibility kings bear for the consequences of their decisions.