Shloka 23
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 126 — Kṛṣṇa’s Indictment of Misrule and the Varuṇa Analogy (कृष्णवाक्यं–धर्मपाशदृष्टान्तः)
यावच्च राजा धप्रियते धृतराष्ट्रो जनार्दन । न्यस्तशस्त्रा वयं ते वाप्पयुपजीवाम माधव । अप्रदेयं पुरा दत्तं राज्यं परवतो मम
yāvac ca rājā dhriyate dhṛtarāṣṭro janārdana | nyastaśastrā vayaṃ te vāpy upajīvāma mādhava | apradeyaṃ purā dattaṃ rājyaṃ parvato mama ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Janārdana, so long as King Dhṛtarāṣṭra remains alive, we should lay down our weapons and live in peace under your protection, O Mādhava. The share of the kingdom that was once given earlier was, in truth, not something that ought to have been granted; what was handed over then—through ignorance or fear, when I was young and dependent—cannot now be reclaimed by the Pāṇḍavas.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a political-ethical stance: while the elder king Dhṛtarāṣṭra lives, restraint and non-violence are urged, yet it simultaneously argues about the legitimacy of past concessions, claiming that earlier grants of royal share were improper and therefore not binding now.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, a speaker (reported by Vaiśaṃpāyana) addresses Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana/Mādhava), advocating disarmament and peaceful living during Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s lifetime, while contesting the Pāṇḍavas’ entitlement to a previously allotted portion of the kingdom.