Shloka 5
यस्माद् युध्यन्तमाचार्य धर्मकञ्चुकमास्थित: । मुज्च शस्त्रमिति प्राह कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर:
yasmād yudhyantam ācārya dharmakañcukam āsthitaḥ | muñca śastram iti prāha kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing the Teacher engaged in battle while still clad in the ‘armor’ of righteousness, Kuntī’s son Yudhiṣṭhira called out, “Lay down your weapon.” The appeal frames the conflict as not merely martial but moral—an attempt to halt violence by invoking the opponent’s dharmic self-conception.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, dharma can be invoked as a moral check: Yudhiṣṭhira appeals to Droṇa’s identity as a righteous teacher, urging him to renounce violence. The verse highlights the ethical strategy of calling an adversary back to their professed values.
Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the battling Ācārya (Droṇa). Noting that Droṇa still appears ‘clothed’ in dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira urges him to lay down his weapon—an attempt to stop or soften the confrontation through moral appeal.