Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 9
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
पुत्रो भ्राता पिता चैव स्वस्रनीयो मातुलस्तथा । सम्बन्धिबान्धवाश्रैव योद्धया वै क्षत्रजीविना
putro bhrātā pitā caiva svasr̥nīyo mātulas tathā | sambandhi-bāndhavāś caiva yoddhavyā vai kṣatrajīvinā ||
Sañjaya said: For a man who lives by the kṣatriya calling—whose livelihood is sustained by the duties of warriorhood—it is indeed a duty to fight even against one’s own: son, brother, father, sister’s son, maternal uncle, and other relatives and kinsmen. In the harsh ethic of kṣatriya-dharma, personal ties do not exempt one from the obligations of battle when war has become the ordained course.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a stringent principle of kṣatriya-dharma: a warrior by vocation must not abandon the duty of battle merely because the opponent is a close relative; social and familial bonds do not override the role-based obligation once war is engaged.
Sañjaya is describing the warrior code and the grim reality of the Kurukṣetra conflict: combat compels men to confront even their own family members, underscoring how the war dissolves ordinary domestic boundaries under the demands of kṣatriya conduct.
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