Shloka 1
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
ऑपन--माजल बछ। अफ<-जआकऋज (भगवदयानपर्व) द्विसप्ततितमो< ध्याय: युधिष्ठटिरका बरस ष्णसे अपना अभिप्राय निवेदन करना
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
sañjaye pratiyāte tu dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |
arjunaṃ bhīmasenaṃ ca mādrīputrau ca bhārata |
virāṭa-drupadau caiva kekayānāṃ mahārathān ||
abravīd upasaṅgamya śaṅkha-cakra-gadādharam |
abhiyācāmahe gatvā prayātuṃ kuru-saṃsadam ||
yathā bhīṣmeṇa droṇena bāhlīkena ca dhīmatā |
anyaiś ca kurubhiḥ sārdhaṃ na yudhyemahi saṃyuge ||
eṣa naḥ prathamaḥ kalpa etan naḥ śreya uttamam |
evam uktāḥ sumanasas te 'bhijagmur janārdanam ||
pāṇḍavaiḥ saha rājāno marutvantam ivāmarāḥ |
tadā ca duḥsahāḥ sarve sadasyās te nararṣabhāḥ ||
janārdanaṃ samāsādya kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |
abhāṣata dāśārham ṛṣabhaṃ sarva-sātvatām ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: Setelah Sañjaya pergi, Raja Yudhiṣṭhira yang teguh dalam dharma mendatangi Arjuna dan Bhīmasena, kedua putra Mādrī (Nakula dan Sahadeva), juga Virāṭa, Drupada, serta para mahāratha dari Kekaya. Mendekati Janārdana—Śrī Kṛṣṇa, pemegang sangkha, cakra, dan gada—ia berkata: “Marilah kita pergi dan memohon dengan sungguh-sungguh agar beliau berangkat menuju sidang Kuru. Semoga beliau berupaya di sana sehingga kita tidak perlu berperang di medan laga melawan Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Bāhlīka yang bijaksana, dan para Kuru lainnya. Inilah tekad pertama kita; inilah kebaikan tertinggi bagi kita.” Setelah demikian diucapkan, mereka pun pergi dengan hati gembira kepada Janārdana. Para raja dan insan utama itu—yang dahsyat bagi musuh—mengiringi para Pāṇḍava menuju Kṛṣṇa sebagaimana para dewa mendatangi Indra. Sesampainya di hadapan Janārdana, putra Kuntī, Yudhiṣṭhira, berbicara kepada Dāśārha Kṛṣṇa, banteng di antara seluruh Sātvata.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when conflict seems inevitable, the dharmic first step is to exhaust peaceful and ethical means—especially to avoid fighting revered elders and one’s own kin. Yudhiṣṭhira frames peace not as weakness but as the ‘highest good’ (śreya uttamam), and seeks Kṛṣṇa’s moral authority and diplomatic skill to pursue it.
After Sañjaya departs, Yudhiṣṭhira gathers the Pāṇḍava brothers and allied kings (Virāṭa, Drupada, Kekayas) and proposes approaching Kṛṣṇa to request that he go to the Kuru court as an envoy. Their aim is to prevent a war in which they would have to fight Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Bāhlīka, and other Kurus. They then go together to Kṛṣṇa, and Yudhiṣṭhira begins addressing him.