Shloka 29
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय २५: संजयदूतवाक्यम्
Sañjaya’s Envoy-Speech on Peace
अद्यापि तत् तत्र तथैव वर्ततां शान्तिं गमिष्यामि यथा त्वमात्थ । इन्द्रप्रस्थे भवतु ममैव राज्यं सुयोधनो यच्छतु भारताग्रय:
adyāpi tat tatra tathaiva vartatāṃ śāntiṃ gamiṣyāmi yathā tvam āttha | indraprasthe bhavatu mamaiva rājyaṃ suyodhano yacchatu bhāratāgryaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Even now, let everything there remain just as it was before. I will accept peace, exactly as you have spoken. But in Indraprastha, let the kingship be mine as it formerly was; let Suyodhana—foremost among the Bharatas—restore that realm to me.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Peace is acceptable when grounded in justice: reconciliation is urged, but not at the cost of surrendering one’s rightful sovereignty. The verse frames śānti (peace) as compatible with dharma only if legitimate claims—here, Indraprastha—are restored.
In the diplomacy preceding war, a peace position is articulated: hostilities can cease and the prior arrangement can stand, provided that Indraprastha is returned to its rightful ruler and Suyodhana formally grants it back.