Shloka 35
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
अस्मांस्तु वा पराजित्य प्रशाधि पृथिवीमिमाम् । अथवा निहतोअस्माभिभर्भूमौ स्वप्स्यसि भारत,“भरतनन्दन! हम सब लोगोंको परास्त करके इस पृथ्वीका शासन करो अथवा हमारे हाथों मारे जाकर सदाके लिये रणभूमिमें सो जाओ
asmāṁs tu vā parājitya praśādhi pṛthivīm imām | athavā nihato 'smābhir bhūmau svapsyasi bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: “Either defeat us and rule this earth, or else, slain by us, you will lie asleep upon the battlefield forever, O Bhārata.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse expresses the kṣatriya ethic of decisive responsibility: legitimate rule follows victory in a just contest, while defeat entails accepting death without evasion. It underscores accountability—one must either prove fitness to govern or bear the ultimate consequence of failure in war.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield challenge framed as an ultimatum to a Kuru warrior: conquer and take sovereignty of the earth, or be killed and remain on the field. It heightens the tension of Shalya Parva’s climactic fighting by presenting victory and death as the only outcomes.