Shloka 14
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
आत्मयज्ञेन नृपते इष्ट्वा वैवस्व॒तं रणे । विजित्य च समेष्यावो हतामित्रौ श्रिया वृती
ātmayajñena nṛpate iṣṭvā vaivasvataṃ raṇe | vijitya ca sameṣyāvo hatāmitrau śriyā vṛtī ||
દુર્યોધને કહ્યું—હે નૃપતિ! રણભૂમિમાં આત્મયજ્ઞ દ્વારા અમે વૈવસ્વત (યમ)નું યજન કરીશું; શત્રુઓને સંહાર કરીને વિજય મેળવી, શ્રીથી શોભિત થઈ અમે બંને સાથે પરત ફરીશું.
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.