Shloka 26
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शान्त्युपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel to Duryodhana for Pacification
वासुदेवेन तीर्थेन तात गच्छस्व संशमम् । कालप्राप्तमिदं मन्ये मा त्वं दुर्योधनातिगा:
vāsudevena tīrthena tāta gacchasva saṃśamam | kālaprāptam idaṃ manye mā tvaṃ duryodhanātigāḥ ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—तात, वासुदेव-सम्बन्धी पवित्र उपाय से सन्धि-शान्ति की ओर जाओ। मैं इसे काल-प्राप्त अवसर मानता हूँ; कहीं दुर्योधन तुमसे पहले पहल न कर ले।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Seize the timely opportunity for reconciliation through righteous mediation (here linked with Vāsudeva/Kṛṣṇa), and do not allow an adversary to gain strategic or moral advantage by acting first; ethical leadership includes prompt, peace-oriented initiative when Kāla makes it possible.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, the narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana reports counsel urging a party to pursue pacification via Vāsudeva’s auspicious agency, emphasizing that the moment is ripe and warning not to be outmaneuvered by Duryodhana.