Shloka 18
Virāṭa-sabhāyāṃ Saṃniveśaḥ — Assembly at Virāṭa’s Hall and Kṛṣṇa’s Diplomatic Counsel
तत् प्रार्थयन्ते पुरुषप्रवीरा: कुन्तीसुता माद्रवतीसुतौ च । बालास्त्विमे तैर्विविधैरुपायै: सम्प्रार्थिता हन्तुममित्रसंघै:
tat prārthayante puruṣapravīrāḥ kuntīsutā mādravatīsutau ca | bālāstvime tairvividhairupāyaiḥ samprārthitā hantuṃ amitrasaṅghaiḥ ||
Эти лучшие из мужей — сыновья Кунти и сыновья Мадри — разыскиваются. Эти юноши многократно были заманиваемы вражескими полчищами различными уловками, с целью погубить их.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical contrast: righteous conflict should be open and principled, but the enemy resorts to varied stratagems to have the young heirs killed. It implicitly condemns deceitful, indirect violence as adharma and frames the coming war as driven not merely by power but by moral breakdown.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa describes how the principal Pāṇḍava heirs—Kuntī’s sons and Mādrī’s two sons—are being targeted by enemy groups. The enemies repeatedly employ different methods to entice, pressure, or maneuver circumstances so that these youths may be slain.