Shloka 17
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शान्त्युपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel to Duryodhana for Pacification
एतत् ते सर्वमाख्यातं यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु । न हि त्वामुत्सहे वक्तुं भूयो भरतसत्तम,“जमदग्निनन्दन परशुरामजीने जैसा बताया है, ये अर्जुन उससे भी महान् हैं और देवकीनन्दन भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण तो देवताओंके लिये भी अत्यन्त दुःसह हैं। भरतमश्रेष्ठ! तुम्हें सुखद और प्रिय लगनेवाली अधिक बातें कहनेसे क्या लाभ? ये सब बातें जो हमें कहनी थीं, मैंने कह दीं। अब तुम्हारी जैसी इच्छा हो, वैसा करो। भरतवंशविभूषण! अब तुमसे और कुछ कहनेके लिये मेरे मनमें उत्साह नहीं है”
etad te sarvam ākhyātaṃ yathecchasi tathā kuru | na hi tvām utsahe vaktuṃ bhūyo bharatasattama ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “All this has been fully explained to you. Act exactly as you wish. For, O best of the Bharatas, I do not have the heart to speak to you further.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes personal agency after receiving counsel: once guidance has been fully given, the listener must choose and act. It also models ethical restraint—knowing when further speech is unhelpful and stepping back rather than pressing advice.
Within the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, the narrator (Vaiśaṃpāyana) reports a speaker concluding their counsel: they have said everything necessary and now leave the decision to the addressed Bharata prince, declaring no further urge to continue speaking.