Shloka 44
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
ये पुनः स्युरसम्बद्धा अनार्या: कृष्ण शत्रव: । तेषामप्यवध: कार्य: किं पुनर्ये स्युरीदूशा:,श्रीकृष्ण! जिनका अपने साथ कोई सम्बन्ध न हो तथा जो सर्वथा नीच एवं शत्रुभाव रखनेवाले हों, उनका भी वध करना उचित नहीं है। फिर जो सगे-सम्बन्धी, श्रेष्ठ और सुहृद् हैं, ऐसे लोगोंका वध कैसे उचित हो सकता है?
ye punaḥ syur asambaddhā anāryāḥ kṛṣṇa śatravaḥ | teṣām apy avadhaḥ kāryaḥ kiṃ punar ye syur īdṛśāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Kṛṣṇa, even if there are enemies who have no connection with us and are ignoble in conduct, is their killing truly to be undertaken? How much less, then, could it be right to kill those who are of our own kin—noble and well-disposed toward us?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral hierarchy: if killing even unrelated, ignoble enemies is questionable, then killing one’s own relatives and well-wishers is even less defensible. It highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharmic hesitation and the demand that warfare be morally justified, not merely expedient.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Kṛṣṇa, voicing deep reluctance about the coming conflict. He argues against slaughter, especially of kin and friends, and presses Kṛṣṇa to consider the ethical cost of war.