Shloka 14
Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement
स कथं वदसे शत्रुं युध्यस्व गदयेति हि । एकं च नो निहत्याजौ भव राजेति भारत,“भारत! जब ऐसी अवस्था है, तब आपने अपने शत्रुसे कैसे यह कह दिया कि “तुम गदाद्वारा युद्ध करो और हममेंसे किसी एकको मारकर राजा हो जाओ”
sa kathaṃ vadase śatruṃ yudhyasva gadayeti hi | ekaṃ ca no nihatyaājau bhava rājeti bhārata ||
സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ഭാരതാ! ഇങ്ങനെയൊരു സാഹചര്യത്തിൽ നീ ശത്രുവിനോട് എങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഗദയോടെ യുദ്ധം ചെയ്തു; യുദ്ധത്തിൽ ഞങ്ങളിലൊരാളെ വധിച്ച് രാജാവാകുക” എന്ന്?
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech in warfare: even when conflict is unavoidable, counsel and utterances should not appear to endorse the enemy’s triumph at the cost of one’s own side. It points to the responsibility of leaders to speak in ways consistent with loyalty, prudence, and dharmic restraint.
Sañjaya questions a Bharata-descendant (contextually, the royal listener) about a startling statement made to an enemy: inviting him to fight with a mace and, by killing one of ‘us’ in battle, to become king. The line reflects the charged atmosphere around the mace-duel and the anxieties about how words and tactics shape the moral perception of the war.