Shloka 107
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
वधे धृतो वेगवतः प्रमुडचन् नाहं प्रजा: किंचिदिहावशिष्ये | शान्तिं लप्स्ये परमो होष भाव: स्थिरो मम ब्रूहि गावल्गणे तान्
vadhe dhṛto vegavataḥ pramudacan nāhaṃ prajāḥ kiṃcid ihāvaśiṣye | śāntiṃ lapsye paramo hoṣa-bhāvaḥ sthiro mama brūhi gāvalgaṇe tān |
Sañjaya sprach: „Zum Töten entschlossen, berauscht von meiner eigenen Schnelligkeit und Kraft, werde ich hier keinen Menschen am Leben lassen. Erst dann werde ich Frieden erlangen. Dies ist mein höchster und unbeirrbarer Entschluss—geh, o Gāvalgaṇa, und sage es ihnen unverblümt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse exposes a tragic ethical inversion common in war rhetoric: the speaker equates ‘peace’ with total annihilation of opponents and even the wider populace. It highlights how anger and martial pride can masquerade as a quest for peace, thereby challenging dharmic discernment about means and ends.
Sañjaya reports a message of uncompromising intent: the speaker declares a firm resolve to spare no one and instructs Sañjaya (addressed as Gāvalgaṇa) to convey this determination to the other side. It functions as a threat and a declaration of policy in the escalating pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva.