Shloka 45
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
ज्ञातयश्वैव भूयिष्ठा: सहाया गुरवश्च न: । तेषां वधो5तिपापीयान् किं नो युद्धेडस्ति शो भनम्
jñātayaś caiva bhūyiṣṭhāḥ sahāyā guravaś ca naḥ | teṣāṃ vadho'tipāpīyān kiṃ no yuddhe'sti śobhanam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Most of those standing with us are our own kinsmen—our allies and even our revered elders and teachers. To kill them would be a grievous sin. What good, then, can there be for us in this war?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a dharmic conflict: even a politically justified war becomes ethically fraught when it requires killing one’s own relatives and revered elders/teachers. Yudhiṣṭhira questions whether any ‘good’ (śobhana) can arise from an act he deems intensely sinful (atipāpīyān).
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Yudhiṣṭhira voices hesitation about proceeding to battle. He observes that the opposing side includes their own kin and respected seniors, and he worries that their death would make the war morally ruinous for the Pāṇḍavas.