Shloka 5
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १२५: दुर्योधनस्य प्रत्युत्तरम्
Duryodhana’s Reply in the Kuru Assembly
यावन्न चरते मार्गान् पृतनामभि थधर्षयन् । भीमसेनो गदापाणिस्तावत् संशाम्य पाण्डवै:
yāvan na carate mārgān pṛtanām abhidharṣayan | bhīmaseno gadāpāṇis tāvat saṃśāmya pāṇḍavaiḥ ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—दुर्योधन! जब तक गदा हाथ में लिये भीमसेन तुम्हारी सेना को रौंदते हुए युद्ध-मार्गों में विचरण नहीं करने लगे, तब तक पाण्डवों से संधि कर लो।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Choose reconciliation while it is still possible; delaying ethical action invites irreversible harm. The verse frames peace (saṃdhi/saṃśama) as the wiser dharmic option before violence becomes unstoppable.
The narrator reports a warning: before Bhīma begins his devastating assault through the battle formations, the opposing side should make peace with the Pāṇḍavas. It is a strategic and moral counsel given in the tense lead-up to war.