Shloka 13
Kṛṣṇasya Karṇam Prati Sāntvavacana
Kṛṣṇa’s Conciliatory Address to Karṇa
द्रौपदीसहितं पार्थ सायुधैर्भ्नातृभिर्वृतम् । वनस्थमपि राज्यस्थ: पाण्डवं को विजेष्यति,अपने अस्त्र-शस्त्रधारी भाइयोंसे घिरे हुए द्रौपदी-सहित पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिर वनमें रहें तो भी उन्हें राज्यसिंहासनपर बैठा हुआ कौन नरेश युद्धमें जीत सकेगा?
drau-padī-sahitaṃ pārtha sāyudhair bhrātṛbhir vṛtam | vanastham api rājyasthaḥ pāṇḍavaṃ ko vijeṣyati ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Pārtha, wer könnte im Kampf jenen Pāṇḍava—Yudhiṣṭhira—besiegen, wenn er Draupadī bei sich hat und von seinen waffentragenden Brüdern umringt ist? Selbst wenn er im Wald lebt, ist er in Wahrheit des Königsthrons würdig; einen solchen bezwingt man nicht leicht.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes that true royal strength and legitimacy rest on righteous leadership supported by capable allies; even in exile, the Pāṇḍava’s inherent fitness to rule and the protection of his armed brothers make him effectively unconquerable.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war counsel, Bhīṣma speaks to a Pāṇḍava addressee (“Pārtha”), praising the Pāṇḍavas’ combined power: with Draupadī present and the brothers armed and united, no king can realistically defeat the Pāṇḍava, even if he is living in the forest.