Shloka 15
कृष्ण-दूतविषये दुर्योधनस्य बन्धन-प्रस्तावः — Duryodhana’s Proposal to Detain Krishna
Envoy-Ethics Debate
आशंसमान: कल्याणं कुरूनभ्येति केशव: । येनैव राजन्नर्थन तदेवास्मा उपाकुरु,महाराज! भगवान् केशव उभयपक्षके कल्याणकी इच्छा लेकर जिस प्रयोजनसे इस कुरुदेशमें आ रहे हैं, वही उन्हें उपहारमें दीजिये
āśaṃsamānaḥ kalyāṇaṃ kurūn abhyeti keśavaḥ | yenaiva rājann arthan tadevāsmā upākuru ||
Vidura says: “Keśava is coming to the Kurus with the hope of securing what is good. O King, grant him precisely that very aim for which he has come.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True honor to a righteous envoy is not ritual hospitality alone but ethical action: fulfill the just purpose he brings—seek welfare (kalyāṇa) through reconciliation and restraint, thereby preventing adharma and needless destruction.
As Kṛṣṇa arrives in the Kuru court as a peace-messenger, Vidura counsels the king to grant Kṛṣṇa’s intended objective—settling the dispute fairly—rather than ignoring the message or offering superficial gifts while persisting in injustice.