Shloka 25
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
सुखोचितो दुःखशब्यां वनेषु दीर्घ काल॑ नकुलो यामशेत । आशीविष: क्रुद्ध इवोद्वमन् विषं तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्
sañjaya uvāca | sukhocito duḥkhaśayyāṃ vaneṣu dīrgha-kālaṃ nakulo yāmaśete | āśīviṣaḥ kruddha ivodvaman viṣaṃ tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro ’nvatapsyāt ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Nakula, einst an Wohlleben gewöhnt, hat lange in den Wäldern auf einem Lager der Entbehrung geruht. Wenn er, eingedenk dieses Leidens, seinen Zorn ausgießt wie eine erzürnte Giftschlange ihr Gift speit, dann wird der Sohn Dhṛtarāṣṭras im Kriege bitter bereuen, den Streit entfacht zu haben.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Provoking unjust conflict has consequences: the suffering imposed on the righteous returns as fierce retaliation, and the instigator (here, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son) is left with remorse. The verse underscores moral causality—hardship endured with restraint can later become formidable force when dharma is violated.
Sañjaya warns the Kuru court that Nakula, long forced into forest exile and hardship despite being fit for royal comforts, will unleash pent-up fury in battle. Using the image of an enraged venomous serpent, he predicts that Duryodhana will regret having started the war.