Shloka 56
द्वयमेतद् भवेद् राजन् वधस्तत्र प्रशस्यते । “धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिरका क्रूरतापूर्ण नीच कर्म मैंने सुन लिया। राजन्! जो लोग युद्धमें प्रवृत्त होते हैं, उन्हें विजय और पराजय अवश्य प्राप्त होती है। परंतु युद्धमें होनेवाले वधकी अधिक प्रशंसा की गयी है
dvayam etad bhaved rājan vadhas tatra praśasyate |
Sañjaya said: “O King, in this situation there are only two outcomes; and among them, the act of slaying is spoken of as the more ‘praiseworthy.’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Once war is embraced, the moral vocabulary often shifts: success is measured by decisive violence, and killing is treated as ‘praiseworthy’ within the warrior-code framework—highlighting the ethical tension between dharma and battlefield pragmatism.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, summarizing the stark alternatives in the ongoing battle and indicating that, in that context, slaying the opponent is being commended as the decisive and celebrated outcome.