Shloka 48
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
अहापयित्वा यदि पाण्डवार्थ शमं कुरूणामपि चेच्छकेयम् | पुण्यं च मे स्याच्चरितं महोदयं मुच्येरंश्न॒ कुरवो मृत्युपाशात्
apāpayitvā yadi pāṇḍavārthaṃ śamaṃ kurūṇām api cecchakeyam | puṇyaṃ ca me syāc caritaṃ mahodayaṃ mucyeran kuravo mṛtyupāśāt ||
Vāyu sprach: „Wenn ich, ohne das rechtmäßige Interesse der Pāṇḍavas zu verletzen, selbst für die Kurus Frieden stiften könnte, dann wäre durch mich ein höchst heiliges Werk von großer und glückverheißender Wirkung vollbracht—und auch die Kurus würden aus der Schlinge des Todes befreit.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
True peacemaking is dharmic only when it protects rightful claims (pāṇḍavārtha) and prevents needless destruction; such reconciliation is itself a meritorious act (puṇya) and can avert catastrophic consequences symbolized as the ‘noose of death’ (mṛtyupāśa).
Vāyudeva expresses the intention to achieve a settlement between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kurus without compromising the Pāṇḍavas’ legitimate interests, hoping thereby to accomplish a great auspicious deed and to save the Kurus from impending death brought on by war.