Shloka 28
अपि पश्चादिदं मातर्यवोचदिति न: श्रुतम् । न हि शक्ष्याम्यहं त्यक्तुं नूपं दुर्योधनं रणे
api paścād idaṃ mātary avocad iti naḥ śrutam | na hi śakṣyāmy ahaṃ tyaktuṃ nūpaṃ duryodhanaṃ raṇe
अपि पश्चादिदं मातर्यवोचदिति नः श्रुतम्। न हि शक्ष्याम्यहं त्यक्तुं नूपं दुर्योधनं रणे॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint in speech—especially regarding one’s mother—and frames battlefield conduct as bound by dharma: even amid conflict, one should not violate fundamental norms of respect and propriety.
Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in a reflective, moralizing tone, invoking what is ‘heard’ or accepted as proper tradition. He asserts that he cannot bring himself to abandon Duryodhana in battle, describing him metaphorically as a firm ‘pillar,’ underscoring the gravity and steadfastness expected in the martial context.