Shloka 41
तुम युद्धमें पितामहको मारकर भी अपने लिये तो धर्म ही मानते हो, किंतु मेरे द्वारा एक पापी शत्रुके मारे जानेपर भी इस कार्यको धर्म नहीं समझते; इसका क्या कारण है? ।। सम्बन्धावनतं पार्थ न मां त्वं वक्तुमहसि । स्वगात्रकृतसोपानं निषण्णमिव दन्तिनम्,पार्थ! जैसे हाथी सम्बन्ध स्थापित कर लेनेपर लोगोंको अपने ऊपर चदढ़ानेके लिये अपने ही शरीरकी सीढ़ी बनाकर बैठ जाता है, उसी प्रकार मैं भी तुम्हारे साथ सम्बन्ध होनेके कारण नतमस्तक होता हूँ; अतः तुम्हें मेरे प्रति ऐसी बातें नहीं कहनी चाहिये
sambandhāvanataṃ pārtha na māṃ tvaṃ vaktum arhasi | svagātra-kṛta-sopānaṃ niṣaṇṇam iva dantinām ||
Dhrishtadyumna said: “O Partha, because of our relationship I stand before you with my head bowed; therefore you should not speak to me in that manner. Just as an elephant, once it has formed an attachment, sits down and makes a ‘stair’ of its own body so that people may climb upon it, so too I, bound by kinship and alliance with you, submit myself—yet you ought not to press me with reproaches about dharma and sin in this way.”
धष्टहुम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that ethical criticism (dharma-judgment) must be tempered by propriety and relationship: because of alliance and kinship, harsh reproach is improper, and moral arguments in war are often entangled with partiality and inconsistent standards.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna addresses Pārtha, saying that due to their bond he remains submissive, but Pārtha should not speak to him with accusatory moralizing. He illustrates his stance with a simile of an elephant that, once attached, lowers itself and becomes a ‘step’ for others to climb.