Shloka 35
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
अस्मिन् पदे युध्यतां नो वधो5पि श्लाघ्य: पित्रयं परराज्याद् विशिष्टम् । एतान् धर्मान् कौरवाणां पुराणा- नाचक्षीथा: संजय राजमध्ये
asmin pade yudhyatāṁ no vadho 'pi ślāghyaḥ pitryaṁ pararājyād viśiṣṭam | etān dharmān kauravāṇāṁ purāṇān ācakṣīthāḥ sañjaya rājamadhye, sūta ||
Se, lutando por esta parte que nos é de direito, formos até mortos, também essa morte será para nós digna de honra. O reino ancestral é superior ao reino alheio. Portanto, Sañjaya—ó sūta—declara, no meio da assembleia dos reis, estes antigos deveres tradicionais dos Kauravas.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames fighting for one’s rightful ancestral share as a dharmic obligation: even death incurred in such a struggle is considered honorable, and inherited legitimacy (pitrya-rājya) is valued above acquiring or accepting another’s kingdom.
Vāyudeva instructs Sañjaya, in his role as messenger and court narrator, to proclaim before the gathered kings the Kauravas’ ancient codes of conduct—arguing that the claim to ancestral rule justifies steadfastness in conflict, even at the cost of life.