Shloka 28
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
निर्वेष्ठ भर्तृपिण्डं हि कालोडयमुपजीविनाम् । सूक्ष्मो विवादो विप्राणां स्थूलौ क्षात्रौो जयाजयौ,"क्योंकि स्वामीके आश्रित रहकर जीवननिर्वाह करनेवाले पुरुषोंके लिये अपने रक्षकके अन्नको सफल करनेका यही अवसर आया है, ब्राह्मणोंका विवाद सूक्ष्म (बुद्धिके द्वारा साध्य) होता है; परंतु क्षत्रियोंकी जय-पराजय स्थूल अस्त्रोंद्वारा सम्पन्न होती हैं
nirveṣṭa-bhartṛpiṇḍaṃ hi kālo ’yam upajīvinām | sūkṣmo vivādo viprāṇāṃ sthūlau kṣātrau jayājayau ||
Dijo Sañjaya: «Para quienes viven amparados por un señor, éste es precisamente el momento de dar sentido al sustento de su protector: mantenerse firmes por su causa. Las disputas de los brahmanes son sutiles, se resuelven con discernimiento y razón; pero para los kshatriyas, la victoria y la derrota son toscas y manifiestas, decididas por las armas en el campo de batalla».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts role-based dharma: Brahmins resolve conflicts through subtle means like reasoning and discernment, while Kshatriyas face concrete outcomes—victory or defeat—through armed action. It also frames a dependent’s duty as making the patron’s support ‘count’ at a decisive moment by loyal service.
Sañjaya comments on the battlefield ethos: the time has come for those sustained by their leaders to prove their worth in war. He underscores that, unlike scholarly disputes, the Kshatriya contest is settled openly by weapons, with immediate and visible results.