Shloka 19
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 30: Sañjaya’s Departure and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Commission of Greetings
अविस्थलं वृकस्थलं माकन्दीं वारणावतम् | अवसानं भवत्वत्र किंचिदेक॑ च पठचमम्,“अविस्थल, वृकस्थल, माकन्दी, वारणावत तथा पाँचवाँ कोई भी एक गाँव दे दो। इसीपर युद्धकी समाप्ति हो जायगी
Avisthalaṁ Vṛkasthalaṁ Mākandīṁ Vāraṇāvatam | avasānaṁ bhavatv atra kiñcid ekaṁ ca pañcamam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Let Avisthala, Vṛkasthala, Mākandī, and Vāraṇāvata be granted to us—and any one other village as a fifth. Let the conflict end here on this small concession.” In this appeal, he makes peace a moral imperative, asking only the bare minimum so that bloodshed may be avoided and dharma preserved.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when wronged, one should first exhaust peaceful and proportionate remedies. Yudhiṣṭhira’s request for merely five villages presents restraint and the protection of life as a dharmic priority over vengeance or maximal gain.
In the pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira states the minimum terms for peace: four named settlements and any one additional village. He proposes that accepting this small concession should be enough to end the dispute and avert war.