Shloka 12
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
अहं च तात कर्णश्न रणयज्ञं वितत्य वै | युधिष्ठिरं पशुं कृत्वा दीक्षितौ भरतर्षभ,तात! भरतश्रेष्ठ! मैंने तथा कर्णने रणयज्ञका विस्तार करके युधिष्ठिरको बलिपशु बनाकर उस यज्ञकी दीक्षा ले ली है
ahaṃ ca tāta karṇaś ca raṇayajñaṃ vitatya vai | yudhiṣṭhiraṃ paśuṃ kṛtvā dīkṣitau bharatarṣabha ||
দুৰ্যোধনে ক’লে—তাত, ভৰতশ্ৰেষ্ঠ! মই আৰু কৰ্ণে নিশ্চয় ৰণযজ্ঞ বিস্তাৰ কৰিছোঁ; যুধিষ্ঠিৰক বলিপশু কৰি আমি সেই যজ্ঞৰ দীক্ষা গ্ৰহণ কৰিছোঁ।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how adharma can disguise itself in the language of dharma: Duryodhana frames impending violence as a ‘yajña’ (sacrifice), treating a righteous king as a ‘paśu’ (victim). The ethical warning is that ritual metaphors and grand vows cannot sanctify injustice or aggression.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war tensions, Duryodhana speaks to an elder (addressed as ‘tāta’), boasting that he and Karṇa have already ‘initiated’ themselves for a war conceived as a sacrificial rite, with Yudhiṣṭhira imagined as the intended victim—signaling resolve and hostility as the conflict approaches.