Shloka 39
तेषामपि हाधर्मेण चेष्टितं शृूणु यादृशम् । ओ मूर्ख! केवल धर्मसे ही युद्ध नहीं जीता जा सकता। उन कौरवोंकी भी जो अधर्मपूर्ण चेष्टाएँ हुई हैं, उन्हें सुन ले ।। ३८ ई ।। वज्चित: पाण्डव: पूर्वमधर्मेण युधिछिर:
teṣām api hādharmena ceṣṭitaṃ śṛṇu yādṛśam | o mūrkha! kevalaṃ dharmasena hi yuddhaṃ na jītā śakyate | teṣāṃ kauravāṇām api yo ’dharmapūrṇaḥ ceṣṭāḥ saṃbhūtāḥ tāḥ śṛṇu ||
Dhṛṣṭadyumna said: “Hear also what manner of unrighteous conduct they have practiced. O fool—war cannot be won by dharma alone. Listen as well to the Kauravas’ deeds, the actions they undertook steeped in adharma.”
धृष्टह्युम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between moral ideals and battlefield realities: Dhṛṣṭadyumna argues that mere adherence to dharma may not secure victory when the opponent employs adharma, urging recognition of the Kauravas’ unrighteous conduct as part of the ethical debate on strategy.
In the Drona Parva’s war setting, Dhṛṣṭadyumna addresses an interlocutor sharply, insisting they listen to the Kauravas’ adharma-filled actions and asserting that war is not won by righteousness alone—framing a justification for harsher or more pragmatic measures.