Shloka 51
“अतः पाण्डव! तुमलोग धर्मका विचार छोड़कर विजयकी रक्षाका प्रयत्न करो, जिससे सुवर्णमय रथवाले द्रोणाचार्य युद्धस्थलमें तुम सब लोगोंका संहार न कर सकें ।। अश्वत्थाम्नि हते नैष युध्येदिति मतिर्मम । हतं त॑ संयुगे कश्चिदाख्यात्वस्मै मृषा नर:,“मेरा ऐसा विश्वास है कि अभश्वत्थामाके मारे जानेपर ये युद्ध नहीं कर सकते; अतः कोई मनुष्य इनसे झूठे ही कह दे कि *“युद्धमें अश्वत्थामा मारा गया”
ataḥ pāṇḍavāḥ! yūyaṁ dharmavicāraṁ vihāya vijayarākṣaṇāya yatadhvam, yena suvarṇamayarathavān droṇācāryo raṇabhūmau yuṣmān sarvān na saṁharṣyati. aśvatthāmni hate naiṣa yudhyed iti matir mama; hataṁ taṁ saṁyuge kaścid ākhyātv asmai mṛṣā naraḥ—“saṁyuge ’śvatthāmā hataḥ” iti.
Kṛpa berkata: “Maka, wahai Pāṇḍava, tinggalkan dulu pertimbangan dharma dan berusahalah menjaga kemenangan, agar Droṇa yang berkereta emas tidak membinasakan kalian semua di medan perang. Aku yakin: bila Aśvatthāmā dianggap telah tewas, ia tidak akan bertempur lagi; karena itu, biarlah seseorang menyampaikan kepadanya kabar palsu di tengah perang: ‘Aśvatthāmā telah gugur.’”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collision between dharma (truthfulness and moral restraint) and the brutal exigencies of war. Kripa frames deception as a strategic necessity to prevent catastrophic loss, exposing how battlefield survival can pressure even righteous parties toward morally compromised means.
Kripa counsels the Pāṇḍavas that Droṇa is too formidable to face directly; he believes Droṇa would cease fighting if convinced that his son Aśvatthāmā has been killed. He therefore proposes that someone falsely announce Aśvatthāmā’s death to break Droṇa’s will to fight.