Shloka 4
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
जयो वधो वा संग्रामे धात्रा5डदिष्ट: सनातन: । स्वधर्म: क्षत्रियस्यैष कार्पण्यं न प्रशस्यते
jayo vadho vā saṅgrāme dhātrā diṣṭaḥ sanātanaḥ | svadharmaḥ kṣatriyasyaiṣa kārpaṇyaṃ na praśasyate ||
ಸಂಗ್ರಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಯವೋ ಮರಣವೋ—ಧಾತ್ರನು ಇದನ್ನೇ ಶಾಶ್ವತ ವಿಧಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿಗದಿಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಇದೇ ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯನ ಸ್ವಧರ್ಮ; ಕಾರ್ಪಣ್ಯ (ದೀನತೆ) ಪ್ರಶಂಸನೀಯವಲ್ಲ.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A kṣatriya should uphold svadharma in war: accept that battle yields either victory or death as divinely ordained, and avoid kārpaṇya—cowardly self-pity or faint-heartedness—which is ethically blameworthy for a warrior.
Yudhiṣṭhira articulates the warrior code in the context of impending conflict, framing the coming battle as a realm where the Creator has set the outcome as either triumph or death, and urging steadfastness rather than timidity.