Shloka 14
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
आत्मयज्ञेन नृपते इष्ट्वा वैवस्व॒तं रणे । विजित्य च समेष्यावो हतामित्रौ श्रिया वृती
ātmayajñena nṛpate iṣṭvā vaivasvataṃ raṇe | vijitya ca sameṣyāvo hatāmitrau śriyā vṛtī ||
ਦੁਰਯੋਧਨ ਬੋਲਿਆ—ਹੇ ਨ੍ਰਿਪਤੀ! ਰਣਭੂਮੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਤਮ-ਯੱਗ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਅਸੀਂ ਵੈਵਸਵਤ (ਯਮ) ਦਾ ਯਜਨ ਕਰਾਂਗੇ; ਵੈਰੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਰ ਕੇ ਜਿੱਤ ਹਾਸਲ ਕਰ, ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਦੀ ਛਟਾ ਨਾਲ ਸਜ ਕੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਵਾਪਸ ਆਵਾਂਗੇ।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames warfare as a sacrificial act—an ethical self-justification common in kṣatriya rhetoric—where risking one’s life is likened to offering oblations to Yama; it highlights how ambition and the pursuit of Śrī (royal fortune) can be presented as ‘dharma’ even when the moral ground is disputed.
Duryodhana addresses a king (likely a close ally/elder) with confident resolve: he claims that in the coming battle they will ‘worship’ Yama through their war-effort, kill their enemies, win, and then return to the capital crowned with victory and prosperity.