Shloka 25
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
सुखोचितो दुःखशब्यां वनेषु दीर्घ काल॑ नकुलो यामशेत । आशीविष: क्रुद्ध इवोद्वमन् विषं तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्,सुख भोगनेके योग्य वीरवर नकुलने दीर्घकाल-तक वनोंमें रहकर जिस दुःख-शय्यापर शयन किया है, उसका स्मरण करके जब वह क्रोधमें भरे हुए विषैले सर्पकी भाँति विष उगलने लगेगा, उस समय धूृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधनको युद्ध छेड़नेके कारण पछताना पड़ेगा
sañjaya uvāca | sukhocito duḥkhaśayyāṃ vaneṣu dīrgha-kālaṃ nakulo yāmaśete | āśīviṣaḥ kruddha ivodvaman viṣaṃ tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro ’nvatapsyāt ||
Sañjaya said: Nakula, once accustomed to comfort, has for a long time lain in the forests upon a bed of hardship. When, remembering that suffering, he begins to pour out his wrath like an enraged venomous serpent spewing poison, then in the war the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra will bitterly regret having provoked the conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Provoking unjust conflict has consequences: the suffering imposed on the righteous returns as fierce retaliation, and the instigator (here, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son) is left with remorse. The verse underscores moral causality—hardship endured with restraint can later become formidable force when dharma is violated.
Sañjaya warns the Kuru court that Nakula, long forced into forest exile and hardship despite being fit for royal comforts, will unleash pent-up fury in battle. Using the image of an enraged venomous serpent, he predicts that Duryodhana will regret having started the war.