Shloka 22
अध्याय १२२ — कृष्णस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛṣṇa’s Ethical Counsel to Duryodhana
अतः गान्धारीनन्दन! तुम भी अभिमान और क्रोधको त्याग दो। वीर नरेश! तुम पाण्डवोंसे संधि कर लो और क्रोधके आवेशको सदाके लिये छोड़ दो ।।
ataḥ gāndhārīnandana! tvam api abhimānaṁ ca krodhaṁ ca tyaja. vīra nareśa! tvaṁ pāṇḍavaiḥ saha sandhiṁ kuru, krodhāveśaṁ ca sadā-kṛte parityaja. sa bhavān suhṛdāṁ pathyaṁ vaco gṛhṇātu, mā anṛtam. samarthair vigrahaṁ kṛtvā viṣamastho bhaviṣyasi. dadāti yat pārthiva yat karoti yad vā tapas tapyati yaj juhoti, na tasya nāśo ’sti na cāpakarṣo, nānyas tad aśnāti sa eva kartā, bhūpāla!
Nārada said: “Therefore, O son of Gāndhārī, abandon pride and anger. O heroic king, make peace with the Pāṇḍavas and renounce the surge of wrath once and for all. Accept the wholesome, beneficial counsel of your well-wishers; do not take to false conduct. Otherwise, by choosing war against the mighty Pāṇḍavas, you will fall into a grave and perilous danger. O ruler, whatever a person gives in charity, whatever deeds he performs, whatever austerity he undertakes, and whatever sacrificial offerings he makes—none of that is lost or diminished. No one else consumes the fruit of those actions; the doer alone experiences the results of his own good and evil deeds.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nārada urges Duryodhana to renounce pride and anger, accept the salutary counsel of well-wishers, and choose reconciliation over war. He reinforces this ethically by invoking karma: actions—charity, deeds, austerity, sacrifice—do not vanish; the doer alone must experience their results, so one should act rightly and avoid false conduct.
In Udyoga Parva, as the prospect of the Kurukṣetra war intensifies, the sage Nārada addresses Gāndhārī’s son (Duryodhana). He warns that provoking conflict with the powerful Pāṇḍavas will lead to severe danger and counsels him to make peace and restrain wrath.