Shloka 14
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention
अनादिष्टस्तु गुरुणा को नु युध्येत मानव: । आदिष्टस्तु यथा राजन् को न युध्येत मादृश:,“नरेश्वर! गुरुकी आज्ञा प्राप्त हुए बिना कौन मनुष्य युद्ध करेगा और गुरुकी आज्ञा मिल जानेपर मेरे-जैसा कौन वीर युद्ध नहीं करेगा?
anādiṣṭas tu guruṇā ko nu yudhyeta mānavaḥ | ādiṣṭas tu yathā rājan ko na yudhyeta mādṛśaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O König, welcher Mensch würde kämpfen, ohne vom Lehrer befohlen zu sein? Doch wenn der Befehl ergangen ist, wer—zumal einer wie ich—würde sich weigern zu kämpfen?“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames fighting not as personal impulse but as duty regulated by legitimate authority: without a guru’s command one should not enter battle, and once duly commanded, refusing becomes a failure of one’s role and discipline.
Sañjaya addresses the king and justifies participation in battle by appealing to the principle of acting under one’s teacher’s instruction—contrasting the impropriety of fighting unbidden with the obligation to fight when ordered.