Shloka 7
Adhyāya 20 — Rājadharma Argument for Paternal Inheritance and Timely Conciliation
प्राणान्तिकैरप्युपायै: प्रयतद्धिरनेकश: । शेषवन्तो न शकिता नेतुं वै यमसादनम्
prāṇāntikair apy upāyaiḥ prayatadbhir anekaśaḥ | śeṣavanto na śakitā netuṃ vai yamasādanam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Though Duryodhana and the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra strove again and again, by many life-destroying stratagems, to destroy the Pāṇḍavas, they could not send them to Yama’s abode—for their allotted span of life still remained.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated harmful efforts driven by adharma may still fail when constrained by kāla (time), daiva (destiny), and the remaining lifespan (āyuḥ-śeṣa). The verse highlights a moral limit: violent intent does not guarantee results, and the righteous may be protected by factors beyond human scheming.
The narrator states that Duryodhana and the Kauravas tried many times, using deadly plots, to destroy the Pāṇḍavas. Yet they could not bring about their death, because the Pāṇḍavas’ life-span was not yet exhausted—so they could not be taken to Yama’s realm.