Shloka 13
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
त्वय्यधीन: शमो राजन् मयि चैव विशाम्पते । पुत्रान् स्थापय कौरव्य स्थापयिष्याम्यहं परान्
tvayy adhīnaḥ śamo rājan mayi caiva viśāmpate | putrān sthāpaya kauravya sthāpayiṣyāmy ahaṃ parān ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O König, der Friede hängt von dir ab, und er hängt ebenso von mir ab, o Herr der Menschen. O Kaurava, halte deine Söhne innerhalb der Grenzen des Anstands; und ich werde die anderen, die Pāṇḍavas, im Zaum halten.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Peace is not achieved by blaming the other side; it requires each leader to restrain and discipline their own party. Ethical governance begins with controlling one’s own kin and impulses, making reconciliation a shared duty.
In the context of pre-war negotiations, the speaker emphasizes that a settlement depends on mutual internal control: the Kaurava king must keep his sons in check, while the other mediator/party undertakes to keep the Pāṇḍavas restrained, so that a truce can be maintained.