Shloka 15
Nārada’s Visit at Indraprastha and Counsel on Concord; Introduction to Sundopasunda–Tilottamā
इहागतेषु वा तेषु निदेशवशवर्तिषु । प्रवर्तिष्पामहे राजन् यथाशास्त्र निबर्हणम्,राजन्! अथवा यदि वे यहाँ आकर हमारी आज्ञाके अधीन होकर रहेंगे, तब हम नीतिशास्त्रके अनुसार उनके विनाशके कार्यमें लग जायँगे
ihāgateṣu vā teṣu nideśavaśavartiṣu | pravartiṣyāmahe rājan yathāśāstra-nibarhaṇam ||
Duryodhana said: “If they come here and live under our command, then, O King, we shall set ourselves—according to the prescriptions of polity and law—to the work of their destruction.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how appeals to “śāstra” (policy/law) can be used to rationalize unethical aims: Duryodhana frames planned harm as rule-based governance, revealing the tension between outward legality and inner adharma.
Duryodhana proposes a course of action to the king he addresses: if the opposing party comes and submits to their authority, he intends to proceed—under the guise of sanctioned policy—toward measures that culminate in their ruin.