Shloka 186
युधिष्ठिरस्य कृष्णार्जुनादि-समाश्वासनम्
Yudhiṣṭhira’s reassurance and praise of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Bhīma, and Sātyaki
नाविशन्ति शरीरं ते तावत् संशाम्य पाण्डवै: | 'केंचुल छोड़कर निकले हुए सर्पोंके समान अर्जुनके बाण जबतक तुम्हारे शरीरमें नहीं घुस रहे हैं, तबतक ही तुम पाण्डवोंके साथ संधि कर लो
sañjaya uvāca |
na āviśanti śarīraṃ te tāvat saṃśāmya pāṇḍavaiḥ |
keñculaṃ choḍakara nikalē hue sarpoṃ ke samānārjunasya bāṇā yāvat tava śarīre na praviśanti tāvat eva tvaṃ pāṇḍavaiḥ saha sandhiṃ kuru ||
Sañjaya said: “Make peace with the Pāṇḍavas while there is still time. For only until Arjuna’s arrows—like serpents that have cast off their slough—do not yet pierce your body, do you still have the chance to restrain the ruin and choose reconciliation.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses timely ethical choice: before violence becomes irreversible, one should restrain hostility and seek peace (sandhi). It frames reconciliation not as weakness but as prudent dharmic action when destruction is imminent.
Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events, conveys an urgent warning to make a treaty with the Pāṇḍavas. He uses the vivid image of Arjuna’s arrows—like snakes emerging after shedding their skin—to emphasize the immediacy and inevitability of harm if peace is not made at once.