Shloka 14
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
आत्मयज्ञेन नृपते इष्ट्वा वैवस्व॒तं रणे । विजित्य च समेष्यावो हतामित्रौ श्रिया वृती,नरेश्वरर हम दोनों समरांगणमें अपने इस यज्ञके द्वारा यमराजका यजन करके शत्रुओंको मारकर विजयी हो विजयलक्ष्मीसे शोभा पाते हुए पुनः राजधानीमें लौटेंगे
ātmayajñena nṛpate iṣṭvā vaivasvataṃ raṇe | vijitya ca sameṣyāvo hatāmitrau śriyā vṛtī ||
Duryodhana dijo: «Oh rey, en el campo de batalla adoraremos a Vaivasvata (Yama) mediante el sacrificio de nosotros mismos, como si fuésemos la ofrenda. Tras matar a nuestros enemigos y alcanzar la victoria, regresaremos juntos, adornados con el esplendor de la fortuna real.»
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames warfare as a sacrificial act—an ethical self-justification common in kṣatriya rhetoric—where risking one’s life is likened to offering oblations to Yama; it highlights how ambition and the pursuit of Śrī (royal fortune) can be presented as ‘dharma’ even when the moral ground is disputed.
Duryodhana addresses a king (likely a close ally/elder) with confident resolve: he claims that in the coming battle they will ‘worship’ Yama through their war-effort, kill their enemies, win, and then return to the capital crowned with victory and prosperity.