Shloka 5
Ulūpī–Citravāhinī Saṃvāda: Dhanaṃjaya-patana and Prāya-threat
धिक् त्वामस्तु सुद्दुर्बुद्धिं क्षत्रधर्मबहिष्कृतम् । यो मां युद्धाय सम्प्राप्तं साम्नैव प्रत्यगृह्नथा:
dhik tvām astu suddurbuddhiṁ kṣatradharma-bahiṣkṛtam | yo māṁ yuddhāya samprāptaṁ sāmnaiva pratyagṛhṇathāḥ ||
Shame upon you—of utterly perverse judgment, cast out from the warrior’s code—for when I came forward seeking battle, you tried to restrain me with conciliatory words alone. The rebuke condemns not peace itself, but the misuse of soft speech to evade a rightful martial confrontation and the duties of a kṣatriya in a charged ethical moment.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that dharma depends on context and role: a kṣatriya must not abandon rightful martial duty out of fear or convenience, nor hide behind polite conciliation when a just confrontation is demanded. It critiques evasive pacification that undermines honor and responsibility.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) sharply rebukes someone for attempting to stop him from fighting. The rebuke frames the other person as lacking discernment and as having fallen outside the warrior’s code because he tried to meet a challenge for battle with mere conciliatory speech.