Shloka 84
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
एवमाचर कौन्तेय धर्मराजे युधिष्ठिरे । अधर्मयुक्तं संयोगं कुरुष्वैनं कुरूद्गह,कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरके प्रति ऐसा ही बर्ताव करो। कुरुश्रेष्ठ) उनके लिये इस समय अधर्मयुक्त वाक््यका प्रयोग करो
evam ācar kaunteya dharmarāje yudhiṣṭhire | adharmayuktaṃ saṃyogaṃ kuruṣvainaṃ kurūdgvaha, kuntīnandana |
“Demikianlah bertindaklah, wahai putra Kuntī, terhadap Yudhiṣṭhira sang Dharmarāja. Wahai yang terbaik di antara para Kuru, pada saat ini gunakanlah cara bicara dan perlakuan yang berpaut pada adharma terhadapnya.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension central to the Mahābhārata: even a righteous hero may be urged, under extreme wartime pressure, to adopt a strategically ‘adharmic’ manner of speech or engagement. It foregrounds the ethical problem of whether ends (victory/survival) can justify means that violate one’s usual dharmic standards.
Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna with honorific epithets and instructs him to deal with Yudhiṣṭhira—normally revered as Dharmarāja—in a way that is explicitly ‘adharma-yukta’ for the present moment, implying a harsh or improper form of engagement meant to serve an urgent tactical purpose within the war context.