Shloka 6
Sātyaki’s Call for Intervention and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Vow-Bound Restraint (सात्यकिवाक्यं—धर्मराजस्य धैर्यनिश्चयः)
त्वं होव कोपात् पृथिवीमपीमां संवेष्टयेस्तिष्ठतु शार्ड्र्धन्चा । स धार्तराष्ट्रं जहि सानुबन्ध॑ वृत्रं यथा देवपतिम॑हिन्द्र:,उत्तम तो यह है कि आज ही यदुवंशियोंकी सेना नाना प्रकारके प्रचुर अस्त्र-शस्त्र और विचित्र कवच धारण करके युद्धके लिये प्रस्थान करे। धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधन वृष्णिवंशियोंके पराक्रमसे पराजित हो बन्धु-बान्धवोंसहित यमलोक चला जाय। बलरामजी! भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण अलग खड़े रहें, केवल आप ही चाहें तो इस समूची पृथ्वीको भी अपनी क्रोधाग्निकी लपटोंमें लपेट सकते हैं। जैसे देवराज इन्द्रने वृत्रासुरका वध किया था उसी प्रकार आप भी दुर्योधनको उसके सगे-सम्बन्धियों-सहित मार डालिये
tvaṃ hova kopāt pṛthivīm apīmāṃ saṃveṣṭayes tiṣṭhatu śārddhancā | sa dhārtarāṣṭraṃ jahi sānubandhaṃ vṛtraṃ yathā devapatim ahindrāḥ ||
Balarāma said: “Indeed, in your wrath you could even wrap this whole earth in your blazing power—let it stand so. Strike down that son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra together with his allies and followers, just as Indra, lord of the gods, slew Vṛtra.” The speech urges decisive intervention in war: overwhelming strength is acknowledged, yet it is directed toward removing a tyrannical aggressor and his supporting network, framing the act as a righteous, protective use of power rather than mere vengeance.
बलदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power, even when immense, should be directed toward the removal of a destructive aggressor and his enabling network. The verse frames decisive action as dharmic when it protects order, using Indra’s slaying of Vṛtra as a model of righteous force rather than uncontrolled rage.
Baladeva addresses a powerful ally, acknowledging that in anger he could overwhelm even the earth, and urges him to kill the Dhārtarāṣṭra (Duryodhana) along with his supporters—likening the act to Indra’s mythic victory over Vṛtra.