Shloka 4
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १२५: दुर्योधनस्य प्रत्युत्तरम्
Duryodhana’s Reply in the Kuru Assembly
यावन्न दृश्यते पार्थ: स्वेडप्यनीके व्यवस्थित: । भीमसेनो महेष्वासस्तावच्छाम्यतु वैशसम्,“जबतक कुन्तीपुत्र महाधनुर्धर भीमसेन अपनी सेनाके अग्रभागमें खड़े नहीं दिखायी देते हैं, तभीतक यह मार-काटका संकल्प शान्त हो जाना चाहिये
yāvan na dṛśyate pārthaḥ śveḍ apy anīke vyavasthitaḥ | bhīmaseno maheṣvāsaḥ tāvac chāmyatu vaiśasam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “So long as the son of Kuntī—Bhīmasena, the great archer—does not appear standing at the very front of the battle-array, let this resolve for slaughter be calmed. Until he is seen in position, the impulse toward bloodshed should subside.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes restraint before violence: even amid preparations for war, the impulse toward slaughter should be checked and calmed until clear conditions are met—here, the decisive warrior’s presence at the vanguard—highlighting ethical control over martial aggression.
In the Udyoga Parva’s war-preparation context, the narrator reports a call to pause or pacify the intent for bloodshed until Bhīma, the formidable archer, is visibly stationed at the front of the formation—indicating a tactical and psychological threshold before hostilities intensify.