Shloka 18
एतेषामप्युपायानां यस्ते निर्दोषवान् मत: । तस्य प्रयोगमातिष्ठ पुरा कालो$तिवर्तते,पिताजी! इन उपायोंमेंसे जो भी आपको निर्दोष जान पड़े, उसीसे पहले काम लीजिये; क्योंकि समय बीता जा रहा है। जबतक वे राजाओंमें श्रेष्ठ ट्रपदपर उनका पूरा विश्वास नहीं जम जाता, तभीतक उन्हें मारा जा सकता है। पूरा विश्वास जम जानेपर तो उन्हें मारना असम्भव हो जायगा
eteṣām apy upāyānāṁ yas te nirdoṣavān mataḥ | tasya prayogam ātiṣṭha purā kālo ’tivartate, pitāji |
Duryodhana said: “Of these stratagems, whichever you deem free from fault—take it up and put it into action at once, Father, before time slips away. While the Pāṇḍavas have not yet secured firm trust and protection from Drupada, foremost among kings, they can still be struck down; but once that confidence is fully established, killing them will become impossible.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how urgency and the rhetoric of “blameless means” can be used to justify harmful political action. It implicitly warns that ethical language may be co-opted to rationalize adharma—especially when driven by fear of losing strategic advantage as time and alliances shift.
Duryodhana presses his father Dhṛtarāṣṭra to choose and execute, without delay, whichever plan seems least blameworthy for eliminating the Pāṇḍavas. He argues that the window is closing: before the Pāṇḍavas gain firm support from King Drupada, they are vulnerable; afterward, they will be protected and harder to destroy.