Shloka 496
शरस्तम्बोद्धव: श्रीमानवध्य इति मे मतिः । आचार्यामें प्रधान कृप भी महर्षि गौतमके अंशसे सरकण्डोंके समूहमें उत्पन्न हुए हैं। ये श्रीमान् आचार्यपाद अवध्य हैं, ऐसा मेरा विश्वास है
śarastamboddhavaḥ śrīmān avadhya iti me matiḥ | ācāryaṃ me pradhānaṃ kṛpaṃ bhī maharṣi-gautamake aṃśase sarakaṇḍoṃke samūhameṃ utpanna hue haiṃ | ye śrīmān ācāryapāda avadhya haiṃ, aisā merā viśvāsa hai |
Duryodhana declares that the illustrious Kripa—born from a clump of reeds and descended from the line of the sage Gautama—is, in his judgment, inviolable and cannot be slain. By affirming his teacher’s invincibility, Duryodhana seeks moral and strategic reassurance on the eve of conflict, grounding his confidence in revered lineage and the sanctity attached to a Brahmin-warrior preceptor.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how reverence for a teacher and belief in sacred lineage can shape wartime confidence; it also invites reflection on whether such convictions are ethically grounded insight or self-serving reassurance in the face of impending violence.
In Udyoga Parva, as war preparations intensify, Duryodhana speaks about his key supporters. Here he asserts that Kripa, his revered preceptor—said to have arisen from a clump of reeds and linked to Gautama’s line—is ‘avadhya’ (not to be slain), strengthening his resolve and morale.