Shloka 20

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 137 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa Counsel and the Ethics of Restraint

Devanagari script

अलं युद्धेन राजेन्द्र सुह्ददां शूणु वारणम्‌ । ध्रुवं विनाशो युद्धे हि क्षत्रियाणां प्रदृश्यते,'राजेन्द्र! इस युद्धसे तुम्हें कोई लाभ नहीं होगा। तुम्हारे हितैषी सुहृद्‌ जो तुम्हें युद्धसे रोकते हैं, उनकी वह बात सुनो और मानो; क्योंकि युद्ध छिड़ जानेपर क्षत्रियोंका निश्चय ही विनाश दिखायी दे रहा है

Transliteration

alaṁ yuddhena rājendra suhṛdāṁ śṛṇu vāraṇam | dhruvaṁ vināśo yuddhe hi kṣatriyāṇāṁ pradṛśyate ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana dijo: «Basta ya de esta guerra, oh el mejor de los reyes. Escucha la contención que te exhortan tus bienhechores. Pues, una vez trabada la guerra, se ve como segura la destrucción de los kṣatriyas.»

Word by Word

• {'alaṁ': 'enough

• let there be an end (to)', 'yuddhena': 'with/through war

• by war (instrumental of yuddha)', 'rājendra': 'O lord of kings

• O best among kings (vocative)', 'suhṛdām': 'of well-wishers, friends (genitive plural of suhṛd)', 'śṛṇu': 'hear

• listen (imperative of √śru)', 'vāraṇam': 'checking, restraint, prevention

• dissuasion (from √vṛ, ‘to restrain’)', 'dhruvam': 'certainly

• fixed, inevitable', 'vināśaḥ': 'destruction, ruin', 'yuddhe': 'in war (locative)', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'kṣatriyāṇām': 'of kṣatriyas/warrior-rulers (genitive plural)', 'pradṛśyate': 'is clearly seen

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• rājendra (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Heed the counsel of well-wishers and restrain the impulse toward war, because war predictably brings widespread and near-certain ruin—especially for the warrior class—making it ethically and pragmatically disastrous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana, narrating the events of the Udyoga Parva, reports an admonition addressed to a king: abandon the path of war and accept the dissuasion offered by loyal friends, since the outbreak of war makes the destruction of kṣatriyas plainly inevitable.