Shloka 48
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
इदं पुनर्वचन धार्त॑राष्ट्र सुयोधनं संजय श्रावयेथा: । यस्ते शरीरे हृदयं दुनोति काम: कुरूनसपत्नो<नुशिष्याम्
idaṃ punarvacanaṃ dhārtarāṣṭra suyodhanaṃ saṃjaya śrāvayethāḥ | yas te śarīre hṛdayaṃ dunoti kāmaḥ kurūn asapatno 'nuśiṣyām, saṃjaya |
इदं पुनर्वचनं धार्तराष्ट्रं सुयोधनं संजय श्रावयेथाः । यस्ते शरीरे हृदयं दुनोति कामः कुरूनसपत्नोऽनुशिष्याम् । इन्द्रप्रस्थं पुनरेव मे देहि युद्धं वा कुरु भारतश्रेष्ठ ॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrestrained desire for unrivalled power (kāma) becomes self-torment and leads to ruin; righteous kingship requires restraint and fairness. When a just claim is denied, a kṣatriya may issue a final ethical ultimatum: restore what is due or face war.
Yudhiṣṭhira instructs Sañjaya to deliver a firm message to Duryodhana: his ambition to rule the Kurus without rival is impossible to realize without causing conflict; therefore he must return Indraprastha to the Pāṇḍavas, otherwise war will follow.