Shloka 25
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 126 — Kṛṣṇa’s Indictment of Misrule and the Varuṇa Analogy (कृष्णवाक्यं–धर्मपाशदृष्टान्तः)
प्रियमाणे महाबाहौ मयि सम्प्रति केशव । यावद्धि तीक्षणया सूच्या विध्येदग्रेण केशव । तावदप्यपरित्याज्यं भूमेर्न: पाण्डवान् प्रति,“केशव! इस समय मुझ महाबाहु दुर्योधनके जीते-जी पाण्डवोंको भूमिका उतना अंश भी नहीं दिया जा सकता, जितना कि एक बारीक सूईकी नोकसे छिद सकता है
priyamāṇe mahābāhau mayi samprati keśava | yāvaddhi tīkṣṇayā sūcyā vidhyedagreṇa keśava | tāvadapy aparityājyaṃ bhūmer naḥ pāṇḍavān prati ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Keśava, selama aku—Duryodhana yang berlengan perkasa—masih hidup dan berkuasa, tanah kita tidak boleh diserahkan kepada para Pāṇḍava; bahkan seluas yang dapat ditembus ujung jarum yang tajam pun tidak akan diberikan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked pride and possessiveness can override dharma: refusing even the smallest just concession destroys the possibility of peace and makes violence more likely. Ethically, it warns that obstinate attachment to power and property can become a deliberate choice of adharma.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Duryodhana’s stance is reported: as long as he lives, he will not grant the Pāṇḍavas even a needle-tip’s worth of land. This signals the collapse of diplomatic settlement and foreshadows the inevitability of the Kurukṣetra war.