Shloka 48
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
अहापयित्वा यदि पाण्डवार्थ शमं कुरूणामपि चेच्छकेयम् | पुण्यं च मे स्याच्चरितं महोदयं मुच्येरंश्न॒ कुरवो मृत्युपाशात्,यदि पाण्डवोंका स्वार्थ नष्ट किये बिना ही मैं कौरवोंके साथ इनकी संधि करानेमें सफल हो सका तो मेरे द्वारा यह परम पवित्र और महान् अभ्युदयका कार्य सम्पन्न हो जायगा तथा कौरव भी मौतके फंदेसे छूट जायँगे
apāpayitvā yadi pāṇḍavārthaṃ śamaṃ kurūṇām api cecchakeyam | puṇyaṃ ca me syāc caritaṃ mahodayaṃ mucyeran kuravo mṛtyupāśāt ||
Vāyu said: “If, without harming the Pāṇḍavas’ rightful interest, I could bring about peace even for the Kurus, then a supremely holy deed of great and auspicious consequence would be accomplished by me—and the Kurus too would be released from the noose of death.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
True peacemaking is dharmic only when it protects rightful claims (pāṇḍavārtha) and prevents needless destruction; such reconciliation is itself a meritorious act (puṇya) and can avert catastrophic consequences symbolized as the ‘noose of death’ (mṛtyupāśa).
Vāyudeva expresses the intention to achieve a settlement between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kurus without compromising the Pāṇḍavas’ legitimate interests, hoping thereby to accomplish a great auspicious deed and to save the Kurus from impending death brought on by war.