Shloka 37
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ८१: कृष्णस्य दूतप्रयाणम्
Udyoga Parva, Chapter 81: Krishna Sets Out as Envoy
“कमललोचन श्रीकृष्ण! शत्रुओंके साथ संधिकी इच्छासे आप जो-जो कार्य या प्रयत्न करें, उन सबमें दुःशासनके हाथोंसे खींचे हुए इन केशोंको याद रखें ।। यदि भीमार्जुनौ कृष्ण कृपणौ संधिकामुकौ । पिता मे योत्स्यते वृद्ध: सह पुत्रर्महारथै:
kamalalocana śrīkṛṣṇa! śatrūṇāṃ sārdhaṃ sandhi-icchayā bhavān yat yat kāryaṃ vā prayatnaṃ vā karoti, tat sarvaṃ duḥśāsanena hastābhyāṃ kṛṣṭān etān keśān anusmaratu. yadi bhīmārjunau kṛṣṇau kṛpaṇau sandhi-kāmukau, pitā me yotsyate vṛddhaḥ sa-putro mahā-rathaiḥ.
“Ó Śrī Kṛṣṇa de olhos de lótus! Se, por desejo de paz com os inimigos, empreenderes qualquer ação ou esforço, então, em tudo isso, lembra-te destas mechas de cabelo arrastadas pelas mãos de Duḥśāsana. Se Bhīma e Arjuna, ó Kṛṣṇa, se tornarem pusilânimes e ávidos de acordo, então meu pai, já idoso, irá à batalha—com seus filhos—contra os grandes guerreiros de carro.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Peace-making is not ethically neutral: any proposal of compromise must be weighed against grave injustice. The verse insists that reconciliation cannot erase dishonor and wrongdoing; memory of adharma becomes a moral check against a peace that would legitimize cruelty.
As negotiations for peace are contemplated, Kṛṣṇa is urged to remember the outrage done—symbolized by the hair dragged by Duḥśāsana—so that any diplomatic effort does not dilute the demand for justice. The speaker warns that if key warriors become inclined to compromise, even the elder generation would be forced into battle alongside their sons.