Shloka 43
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
युधिछिर उवाच न हन्तव्यो महाबाहो दुरात्मापि स सैन्धव: । दुःशलामभिसंस्मृत्य गान्धारीं च यशस्विनीम्,युधिष्ठिर बोले--महाबाहो! सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ यद्यपि अत्यन्त दुरात्मा है; तथापि बहिन दुःशला और यशस्विनी माता गान्धारीको स्मरण करके उसका वध न करना
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | na hantavyo mahābāho durātmāpi sa saindhavaḥ | duḥśalām abhisaṃsmṛtya gāndhārīṃ ca yaśasvinīm ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O mighty-armed one, the Saindhava (Jayadratha) should not be slain—even though he is wicked. Remembering Duḥśalā, our sister, and the illustrious Gāndhārī, refrain from killing him.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when an offender is grievously wicked, dharma may require restraint: Yudhiṣṭhira urges that vengeance be checked by remembrance of family bonds and reverence for elders (Duḥśalā and Gāndhārī), prioritizing ethical self-control over retaliatory killing.
In the aftermath of Jayadratha’s wrongdoing against the Pāṇḍavas, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a warrior ally/brother as “mahābāho” and counsels that Jayadratha should not be slain, invoking the memory of Duḥśalā and Gāndhārī as moral reasons to spare him.