Shloka 13
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 3 — Sātyaki on Inner Disposition, Legitimacy, and Coercive Readiness
पादयो: पातयिष्यामि कौन्तेयस्य महात्मन: । मैं तो रणभूमिमें पैने बाणोंसे उन्हें बलपूर्वक मनाकर महात्मा कुन्तीनन्दन युधिष्ठिरके चरणोंमें गिरा दूँगा ।। अथ ते न व्यवस्यन्ति प्रणिपाताय धीमत:
pādayoḥ pātayiṣyāmi kaunteyasya mahātmanaḥ | atha te na vyavasyanti praṇipātāya dhīmataḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “I shall make him fall at the feet of the great-souled son of Kuntī. Yet those wise ones do not resolve to bow down in submission.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights praṇipāta (humble submission) as a moral means to restore harmony: acknowledging the righteous authority of the dhārmic king (Kaunteya/Yudhiṣṭhira) is presented as an ethical step toward reconciliation, while refusal to bow signals hardened resolve and impending conflict.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates an intention to compel someone to submit by falling at Yudhiṣṭhira’s feet, but notes that certain wise persons do not choose to make such a prostration—indicating resistance to reconciliation and the tension leading toward war.