Shloka 20
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
ते चेत् पित्रये कर्मणि वर्तमाना आपसट्येरन् दिष्टवशेन मृत्युम् । यथाशक्त्या पूरयन्त: स्वकर्म तदप्येषां निधन स्यात् प्रशस्तम्,पाण्डव अपने बाप-दादोंके कर्म-क्षात्रधर्म (युद्ध आदि)-में प्रवृत्त हो यथाशक्ति अपने कर्तव्यका पालन करते हुए यदि दैववश मृत्युको भी प्राप्त हो जायेँ तो इनकी वह मृत्यु उत्तम ही मानी जायगी
te cet pitrye karmaṇi vartamānā āpasatyeran diṣṭavaśena mṛtyum | yathāśaktyā pūrayantaḥ svakarma tad apy eṣāṁ nidhanaṁ syāt praśastam ||
If, engaged in the ancestral duty—especially the kṣatriya’s work of battle—they should, by the force of destiny, meet with death, then even that death would be deemed noble, for they would have fulfilled their own obligation to the best of their ability.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should adhere to one’s inherited and rightful duty (svakarma/pitrya karma), and if death comes while fulfilling it to the best of one’s ability, that death is considered honorable and ethically commendable.
Vāyudeva speaks in support of the Pāṇḍavas’ commitment to kṣatriya duty: if they engage in their forefathers’ warrior obligations and even die due to destiny while doing so, their end is praised as a noble outcome of steadfast dharma.