Shloka 6
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
न त्वहं युद्धमिच्छामि नैतदिच्छति बाह्विकः । न च भीष्मो न च द्रोणो नाश्वृत्थामा न संजय:
na tv ahaṁ yuddham icchāmi naitad icchati bāhvikaḥ | na ca bhīṣmo na ca droṇo nāśvatthāmā na sañjayaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “I do not desire war; nor does Bāhlīka desire it. Nor do Bhīṣma or Droṇa, nor Aśvatthāmā, nor Sañjaya.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral complexity of war: even respected elders and advisors may be inwardly unwilling, yet events can still move toward violence when leadership fails to restrain injustice and when collective responsibility is evaded. It hints at the ethical burden of a ruler whose personal reluctance is insufficient without decisive dharmic action.
In Udyoga Parva, as negotiations and preparations intensify before the Kurukṣetra war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to Sañjaya, expressing that he—and several prominent Kuru figures—do not desire war, signaling anxiety and the looming inevitability of conflict despite stated reluctance.