Shloka 48
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
इदं पुनर्वचन धार्त॑राष्ट्र सुयोधनं संजय श्रावयेथा: । यस्ते शरीरे हृदयं दुनोति काम: कुरूनसपत्नो<नुशिष्याम्,संजय! दुर्योधनको तुम मेरी यह बात पुनः सुना देना--“ तुम्हारे शरीरके भीतर मनमें जो यह अभिलाषा उत्पन्न हुई है कि मैं कौरवोंका निष्कण्टक राज्य करूँ, वह तुम्हारे हृदयको पीड़ा-मात्र दे रही है। उसकी सिद्धिका कोई उपाय नहीं है। हम ऐसे पौरुषहीन नहीं हैं कि तुम्हारा यह प्रिय कार्य होने दें। भरतवंशके प्रमुख वीर! तुम इन्द्रप्रस्थपुरी फिर मुझे ही लौटा दो अथवा युद्ध करो”
idaṃ punarvacanaṃ dhārtarāṣṭra suyodhanaṃ saṃjaya śrāvayethāḥ | yas te śarīre hṛdayaṃ dunoti kāmaḥ kurūn asapatno 'nuśiṣyām, saṃjaya |
“Sañjaya, repeat this message again to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Suyodhana. The craving that has arisen within you—to rule the Kurus without a rival—only torments your heart. There is no means by which it can be fulfilled. We are not so lacking in manly resolve that we would allow what is dear to you to be accomplished. O foremost hero of the Bharatas: return Indraprastha to me, or else choose war.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrestrained desire for unrivalled power (kāma) becomes self-torment and leads to ruin; righteous kingship requires restraint and fairness. When a just claim is denied, a kṣatriya may issue a final ethical ultimatum: restore what is due or face war.
Yudhiṣṭhira instructs Sañjaya to deliver a firm message to Duryodhana: his ambition to rule the Kurus without rival is impossible to realize without causing conflict; therefore he must return Indraprastha to the Pāṇḍavas, otherwise war will follow.