Shloka 15
Adhyāya 20 — Rājadharma Argument for Paternal Inheritance and Timely Conciliation
यश्चापि धार्तराष्ट्रस्य हेतु: स्याद् विग्रहं प्रति । स च हेतुर्न मन्तव्यो बलीयांसस्तथा हि ते,“दुर्योधन जिस हेतुको सामने रखकर युद्धके लिये उत्सुक है, उसे यथार्थ नहीं मानना चाहिये; क्योंकि पाण्डव इन कौरवोंसे अधिक बलिष्ठ हैं
yaścāpi dhārtarāṣṭrasya hetuḥ syād vigrahaṃ prati | sa ca hetur na mantavyo balīyāṃs tathā hi te |
وأيًّا كان العذرُ الذي يتذرّع به ابنُ دْهريتاراشترا للدخول في القتال، فلا ينبغي أن يُعَدَّ ذلك العذرُ سديدًا؛ لأن الحقيقة أن أولئك الرجال—الباندافا—أشدُّ بأسًا وأقوى.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A stated ‘cause’ for war is not automatically legitimate; motives must be tested against truth and prudence. Here the counsel rejects Duryodhana’s war-justification because it ignores the reality that the Pāṇḍavas are stronger—implying that reckless, unjustified violence is both unethical and self-destructive.
Vaiśampāyana reports an assessment of the coming conflict: whatever rationale Duryodhana advances for fighting should not be treated as a valid basis, since the Pāṇḍavas surpass the Kauravas in strength. The verse functions as a warning against proceeding to war on flawed reasoning.