Shloka 61
भ्रातरं मातुरासाद्य शल्यं मद्रजनाधिपम् | यदि त्वमरविन्दाक्ष दयावान् न जिघांससि,“कमलनयन नरश्रेष्ठ अर्जुन! मनुष्योंमें श्रेष्ठ गुरु द्रोणाचार्यका सम्मान करते हुए तुम्हारे हृदयमें यदि अश्वत्थामाके प्रति दया है अथवा आचार्योचित गौरवके कारण कृपाचार्यके प्रति कृपाभाव है, यदि माता कुन्तीके अत्यन्त पूजनीय बन्धु-बान्धवोंके प्रति आदरका भाव रखते हुए तुम कृतवर्मापर आक्रमण करके उसे यमलोक भेजना नहीं चाहते तथा माता माद्रीके भाई, मद्रदेशीय जनताके अधिपति, राजा शल्यको भी तुम दयावश मारनेकी इच्छा नहीं रखते तो न सही, किंतु पाण्डवोंके प्रति सदा पापबुद्धि रखनेवाले इस अत्यन्त नीच कर्णको तो आज अपने पैने बाणोंसे मार ही डालो
sañjaya uvāca |
bhrātaraṃ mātur āsādya śalyaṃ madrarajanādhipam |
yadi tvam aravindākṣa dayāvān na jighāṃsasi ||
Sañjaya said: “O lotus-eyed one, if, out of compassion, you do not wish to slay Śalya—the king of Madra—who is your mother’s brother and the lord of the Madra realm…”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between compassion for kin and the kṣatriya obligation to fight in a just war. It frames mercy toward a close relative (a maternal uncle) as a possible motive for restraint, highlighting how familial bonds complicate battlefield dharma.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield appeal addressed to Arjuna: if Arjuna, being compassionate, hesitates to kill Śalya—identified as his mother’s brother and the ruler of Madra—then that reluctance is acknowledged. The line functions as part of a larger exhortation in the surrounding passage urging decisive action against key opponents.