Shloka 21
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीभीमसेनसंवादः
Strī-parva — Gāndhārī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Wartime Conduct
कथं नु धर्म धर्मज्ै: समुद्दिष्ट महात्मभि: । त्यजेयुराहवे शूरा: प्राणहेतो: कथंचन
kathaṃ nu dharma dharmajñaiḥ samuddiṣṭa mahātmabhiḥ | tyajeyur āhave śūrāḥ prāṇa-hetoḥ kathaṃcana ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: How could those heroic men ever abandon, in the midst of battle, the dharma that has been clearly enjoined by great-souled sages who know what dharma is—merely for the sake of preserving their lives?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that true heroes do not forsake dharma—especially the dharma taught by wise and noble authorities—even when their own lives are at stake. Ethical duty is presented as weightier than mere self-preservation.
In the Strī Parva’s aftermath of the war, Vaiśaṃpāyana reflects on the warriors’ adherence to the battle-code and the dharma prescribed by revered, dharma-knowing elders, questioning how such heroes could ever abandon that duty in combat simply to save their lives.