Shloka 63
कुरुक्षेत्रे सेनानिवेशवृत्तान्तः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Questions Saṃjaya on the Deployed Armies
उवाच वदतां श्रेष्ठ: सान्त्वपूर्वमिदं वच: । वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--राजन्! आपद्धर्मके विषयमें कुशल
uvāca vadatāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ sāntvapūrvam idaṁ vacaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Yang terunggul dalam kalangan penutur itu lalu menyapa mereka dengan kata-kata yang menenangkan dan meneguhkan hati. Pada saat itu, Yudhiṣṭhira—yang mahir menimbang dharma ketika zaman gawat—memanggil semua saudara baginda serta Tuhan Vāsudeva yang kekal, lalu bertutur dengan lembut dan berdamai, mempersiapkan mereka menghadapi keputusan-keputusan etika yang berat yang bakal mendatang.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when facing imminent conflict, a leader grounded in dharma should begin with sāntva—calming, conciliatory speech—so that decisions are made from steadiness and ethical clarity rather than agitation or anger, especially in the domain of āpaddharma (ethics under crisis).
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, recognized as wise and skilled in crisis-ethics, gathers his brothers and Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) and begins to speak in a consoling tone, setting the stage for counsel and deliberation in the tense pre-war context of the Udyoga Parva.