Shloka 23
उद्योगपर्व — गान्धारी-उपदेशः
Udyoga Parva — Gandhārī’s Counsel to Duryodhana
न चेत् संधास्यसे राजन् स्वेन कामेन पाण्डवै: । बद्ध्वा किल त्वां दास्यन्ति कुन्तीपुत्राय कौरवा:,'राजन्! यदि आप अपनी इच्छासे पाण्डवोंके साथ संधि नहीं करेंगे तो जान पड़ता है, कौरवलोग आपको बाँधकर कदुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके हाथमें सौंप देंगे
na cet saṃdhāsyase rājan svena kāmena pāṇḍavaiḥ | baddhvā kila tvāṃ dāsyanti kuntīputrāya kauravāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja! Jika tuanku tidak mahu berdamai dengan para Pāṇḍava menurut kehendak tuanku sendiri, maka tampaknya kaum Kaurava akan mengikat tuanku lalu menyerahkan tuanku kepada putera Kuntī (Yudhiṣṭhira).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Peace (saṃdhi) should be chosen willingly and ethically; refusing reconciliation out of stubborn desire can lead to loss of agency and humiliating coercion. The verse warns that ignoring dharmic counsel may force one into submission through political and military pressure.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a warning addressed to a king: if he does not voluntarily conclude peace with the Pāṇḍavas, the Kauravas are expected to seize him, bind him, and deliver him to Yudhiṣṭhira—signaling escalating tensions and the hardening of factions in the lead-up to war.