Shloka 41
उद्योगपर्व — गान्धारी-उपदेशः
Udyoga Parva — Gandhārī’s Counsel to Duryodhana
अपि चाप्यवददू राजन् परमेष्ठी प्रजापति: । व्यूढे देवासुरे युद्धे5 भ्युद्यतेष्वायुधेषु च
api cāpy avadad rājan parameṣṭhī prajāpatiḥ | vyūḍhe devāsure yuddhe ’bhyudyateṣv āyudheṣu ca ||
രാജാവേ! ഇതുകൂടി കേൾക്കുക—ദേവാസുരയുദ്ധത്തിൽ ഇരുപക്ഷവും വ്യൂഹബദ്ധമായി നിലകൊണ്ടപ്പോൾ, ആയുധങ്ങൾ പ്രഹാരത്തിനായി ഉയർത്തപ്പെട്ടപ്പോൾ, പരമേഷ്ഠി പ്രജാപതി ഈ വചനം അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when war becomes imminent and weapons are raised, the epic frames events within a larger moral-cosmic order: authoritative speech (here, Prajāpati/Brahmā) interprets violence not as mere chaos but as something judged and directed by overarching principles of order and destiny.
Vaiśampāyana addresses the king and introduces an illustrative precedent: he recalls a moment when Prajāpati Parameṣṭhin spoke during a fully marshalled devas–asuras battle, at the very instant weapons were lifted—setting up a prophetic or decisive pronouncement about the conflict.