Shloka 3
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
श्रीभगवानुवाच कुरूणां पाण्डवानां च शम: स्यादिति भारत । अप्रणाशेन वीराणामेतद् याचितुमागत:
śrībhagavān uvāca: kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca śamaḥ syād iti bhārata | apraṇāśena vīrāṇām etad yācitum āgataḥ ||
The Blessed Lord said: “O Bhārata, I have come to make this request—that peace may be established between the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas, and that it may be achieved without the destruction of these heroic men.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma through restraint: even among kṣatriyas, the highest aim is to secure peace and justice without needless slaughter. It frames war as a last resort and elevates reconciliation as ethically preferable when it can be achieved without compromising righteousness.
Kṛṣṇa presents himself as an envoy seeking to avert the impending Kurukṣetra war. He states his purpose plainly: to petition for a settlement between the Kauravas (Kurus) and the Pāṇḍavas so that the heroes on both sides are not destroyed.