Shloka 21
Nakula’s Adaptive Counsel to Kṛṣṇa in the Kuru Assembly (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ७८)
सर्वथा तु मया कार्य धर्मराजस्य शासनम् | विभाव्यं तस्य भूयश्व कर्म पापं दुरात्मन:
sarvathā tu mayā kāryaṃ dharmarājasya śāsanam | vibhāvyaṃ tasya bhūyaś ca karma pāpaṃ durātmanaḥ ||
Arjuna sprach: »In jeder Hinsicht muss ich den Befehl Dharmarājas ausführen. Darum muss ich dorthin gehen und zunächst auf jede Weise um Frieden bemüht sein. Scheitert dies, so muss ich erneut erwägen, wie der ruchlose Duryodhana für seine sündigen Taten zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen ist.«
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna frames righteous action as obedience to Dharmarāja’s directive and insists that peace-making must be attempted first; only if reconciliation fails should one deliberate on punitive action against persistent wrongdoing.
In the pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, Arjuna declares his intention to follow Yudhiṣṭhira’s command to strive for a peace settlement; failing that, he will consider how Duryodhana should be held accountable for his harmful, sinful actions.