Shloka 7
यदा स्वपक्षो बलवान् परपक्षस्तथाबल: । विगृहा शत्रून् कौन्तेय जेय: क्षितिपतिस्तदा,महाबाहो! पहले राजप्रधान बारह और मन्त्रिप्रधान साठ--इन बहत्तरका ज्ञान प्राप्त करके संधि, विग्रह, यान, आसन, द्वैधीभाव और समाश्रय--इन छ: गुणोंका यथावसर उपयोग किया जाता है। कुन्तीनन्दन! जब अपना पक्ष बलवान तथा शत्रुका पक्ष निर्बल जान पड़े, उस समय शत्रुके साथ युद्ध छेड़कर विपक्षी राजाको जीतनेका प्रयत्न करना चाहिये
yadā svapakṣo balavān parapakṣas tathābalaḥ | vigṛhya śatrūn kaunteya jeyaḥ kṣitipatis tadā, mahābāho |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O son of Kuntī, mighty-armed one—when your own side is strong and the opposing side is correspondingly weak, then, having taken up hostility against the enemies, the king should strive to conquer the rival ruler. The ethical point is strategic restraint: conflict is to be initiated only when conditions favor a decisive and responsible victory, not from rashness or mere anger.”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king should initiate open conflict only when his own position is strong and the opponent is weak, aiming for a swift, decisive outcome; this frames warfare as a regulated instrument of rājadharma rather than an impulsive act.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a ‘Kaunteya’ and articulates a rule of political conduct: assess relative strength, and only then undertake vigraha (hostility/war) to subdue an opposing ruler.