Shloka 673
अथवा निहतोअस्माभिव्रज लोकाननुत्तमान् | या तो हमलोगोंको परास्त करके तुम्हीं इस पृथ्वीका शासन करो या हमारे हाथों मारे जाकर परम उत्तम लोकोंमें चले जाओ
athavā nihato 'smābhir vraja lokān anuttamān | yāto vā asmān parājitya tvam eva pṛthivīṁ śādhi ||
अथवा निहतोऽस्माभिर्व्रज लोकाननुत्तमान्। अथास्मान् जित्वा त्वमेव पृथिवीं प्रशाधि॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic binary typical of kṣatriya ethics: if one wins, one must accept the burden of righteous rule; if one loses and dies in battle, one attains exalted realms. It ties martial duty to moral accountability rather than mere conquest.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses his opponent in the midst of the Shalya Parva conflict, declaring that either the opponent should defeat the Pāṇḍavas and govern the earth, or, if killed by them, depart to the supreme worlds—underscoring the decisive stakes of the battle.