Shloka 6
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
न त्वहं युद्धमिच्छामि नैतदिच्छति बाह्विकः । न च भीष्मो न च द्रोणो नाश्वृत्थामा न संजय:,देखो, न तो मैं युद्ध करना चाहता हूँ, न बाह्नीक इसकी इच्छा रखते हैं और न भीष्म, द्रोण, अश्वत्थामा, संजय, सोमदत्त, शल तथा कृपाचार्य ही युद्ध करना चाहते हैं। सत्यव्रत, पुरुमित्र, जय और भूरिश्रवा भी युद्धके पक्षमें नहीं हैं
na tv ahaṁ yuddham icchāmi naitad icchati bāhvikaḥ | na ca bhīṣmo na ca droṇo nāśvatthāmā na sañjayaḥ ||
ধৃতৰাষ্ট্ৰ ক’লে— চোৱা, মই যুদ্ধ নাচাওঁ; বাহ্লিকেও নাচায়। ভীষ্মো নহয়, দ্ৰোণো নহয়, অশ্বত্থামাও নহয়, সঞ্জয়ো নহয়— কোনেও যুদ্ধ কামনা নকৰে।
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral complexity of war: even respected elders and advisors may be inwardly unwilling, yet events can still move toward violence when leadership fails to restrain injustice and when collective responsibility is evaded. It hints at the ethical burden of a ruler whose personal reluctance is insufficient without decisive dharmic action.
In Udyoga Parva, as negotiations and preparations intensify before the Kurukṣetra war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to Sañjaya, expressing that he—and several prominent Kuru figures—do not desire war, signaling anxiety and the looming inevitability of conflict despite stated reluctance.