Shloka 233
Indrajit’s Binding, Restoration by Viśalyā, and Counsel Restraining Rāvaṇa (Āraṇyaka Parva 273)
साशथ्चः सरथपादात: स्वस्ति गच्छ जयद्रथ । वह अशुभ कर्म करनेवाला जयद्रथ मृतप्राय-सा हो गया है, यह देख और समझकर भरतश्रेष्ठ राजा युधिष्ठिरने उसपर कृपा की और कहा--तेरी बुद्धि धर्ममें उत्तरोत्तर बढ़ती रहे, तू कभी अधर्ममें मन न लगाना। जयद्रथ! अपने रथ, घोड़े और पैदल सबको साथ लिये कुशलपूर्वक चला जा'
sāśatthaḥ sarathapādātaḥ svasti gaccha jayadratha | sa hy aśubhakarmakārī jayadratho mṛtaprāya iva saṃvṛttaḥ iti dṛṣṭvā jñātvā ca bharataśreṣṭho rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ tasmin kṛpāṃ kṛtvā uvāca—tava buddhir dharme uttarottaraṃ vardhatām, tvam adharme kadācit manaḥ mā kṛthāḥ | jayadratha! sva-ratha-aśva-pādātān sarvān ādāya kuśalapūrvakaṃ gaccha ||
Bhima said: “Jayadratha, go in safety—together with your chariot, horses, and foot-soldiers. Seeing and understanding that Jayadratha, a doer of inauspicious deeds, had been brought to the brink of death, King Yudhiṣṭhira, best of the Bharatas, took pity on him and said: ‘May your understanding grow ever more firmly rooted in dharma; never set your mind upon adharma. Jayadratha, depart safely with all your forces.’”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after overpowering an offender, a righteous king should restrain vengeance and offer moral counsel: let one’s intellect grow in dharma and never incline toward adharma. Mercy is presented as a deliberate expression of dharma, not weakness.
Jayadratha, having committed wrongdoing, is defeated and brought near death. Yudhiṣṭhira, moved by compassion, spares him and instructs him to cultivate dharma, then allows him to depart safely with his chariot, horses, and foot-soldiers.