Shloka 53
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
धर्मार्थों सम्प्रधारयैव यदि सत्यं ब्रवीम्पहम् प्रमु्चेमान् मृत्युपाशात् क्षत्रियान् पुरुषर्षभ
dharma-arthau sampradhāryaiva yadi satyaṃ bravīmy aham | pramucyemān mṛtyu-pāśāt kṣatriyān puruṣarṣabha, janeśvara | āpase pāṇḍavānāṃ rājyaṃ lauṭā dene-ke sivā dūsrī kaun-sī bāt iha kahī jā sakatī hai | asyāṃ sabhāyāṃ ye bhūmipālā niṣaṇṇāḥ, te dharma-artha-vicāraṃ kṛtvā svayaṃ vadantu—ahaṃ samyak bravīmi vā na vā | puruṣaratna, bhavān imān kṣatriyān mṛtyu-phandāt mocayatu ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Wenn ich die Wahrheit rede, so mögen die hier versammelten Könige Dharma und Artha abwägen und es selbst verkünden. O Herr der Völker, was kann man in dieser Versammlung anderes sagen, als dass du das Reich der Pāṇḍavas zurückgeben sollst? Dadurch würdest du diese Kṣatriyas aus der Schlinge des Todes befreien. O Kleinod unter den Menschen, löse diese Krieger aus der Falle des Verderbens.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Political action must be judged by both dharma (justice) and artha (practical welfare). The ethically right and strategically wise course is to restore the Pāṇḍavas’ rightful kingdom, thereby preventing a catastrophic war and saving kṣatriya lives.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, the speaker urges the assembled kings to reflect and publicly affirm that the only meaningful resolution is returning the Pāṇḍavas’ kingdom—framing this as the way to free the warrior class from the impending ‘noose of death’ of war.