Shloka 32
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय संवादः — उपप्लव्यगमनाज्ञा
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue: Command to Proceed to Upaplavya
न चेद् गच्छेत् संगरं मन्दबुद्धि- स्ताभ्यां लभेच्छर्म तदा सुतो मे । नो चेत् कुरून् संजय निर्दहेता- मिन्द्राविष्णू दैत्यसेनां यथैव,संजय! यदि मेरा मन्दबुद्धि पुत्र उन दोनोंसे युद्ध करनेके लिये न जाय, तभी वह कल्याणका भागी हो सकता है। अन्यथा वे दोनों वीर कौरवोंको उसी प्रकार भस्म कर देंगे, जैसे इन्द्र और विष्णु दैत्यसेनाका संहार कर डालते हैं
na ced gacchet saṅgaraṃ mandabuddhis tābhyāṃ labhec charma tadā suto me | no cet kurūn sañjaya nirdahētām indrāviṣṇū daityasenāṃ yathaiva, sañjaya ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “If my dull-witted son does not go to battle against those two, only then may he obtain safety and well-being. Otherwise, Sañjaya, those two heroes will burn the Kurus to ashes—just as Indra and Viṣṇu once destroyed the army of the Daityas.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that reckless confrontation with overwhelmingly superior warriors leads to ruin; true welfare may lie in restraint and avoiding a battle that will bring collective destruction.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a warning addressed to Sañjaya: if the speaker’s son goes to fight “those two” heroes, the Kurus will be annihilated, likened to Indra and Viṣṇu destroying the Daitya forces.