Shloka 18
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 126 — Kṛṣṇa’s Indictment of Misrule and the Varuṇa Analogy (कृष्णवाक्यं–धर्मपाशदृष्टान्तः)
कश्न जातु कुले जात: क्षत्रधर्मेण वर्तयन् भयाद् वृत्तिं समीक्ष्यैवं प्रणणेदिह कहिचित्
kaś na jātu kule jātaḥ kṣatradharmeṇa vartayan bhayād vṛttiṁ samīkṣyaivaṁ praṇaṇed iha kaścit
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Qui donc, né dans une lignée noble et vivant selon le dharma des kṣatriya, irait jamais—par peur, après avoir ainsi calculé son gagne‑pain—se soumettre ici comme un homme ordinaire ?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds kṣatriya-dharma: one born into a warrior lineage should not let fear dictate conduct, nor abase oneself by calculating mere survival over honor and duty.
Vaiśampāyana comments rhetorically on the impropriety of a kṣatriya’s fearful submission, emphasizing that such behavior contradicts the expected warrior code in the tense pre-war context of the Udyoga Parva.