Shloka 49
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
न विद्यते युक्तिरेतस्य काचि- न्नैवंविधा: स्याम यथा प्रियं ते । ददस्व वा शक्रपुरी ममैव युध्यस्व वा भारतमुख्य वीर
na vidyate yuktir etasya kācin naivaṃvidhāḥ syāma yathā priyaṃ te | dadasva vā śakrapurī mamaiva yudhyasva vā bhāratamukhya vīra ||
न विद्यते युक्तिरेतस्य काचिन्नैवंविधाः स्याम यथा प्रियं ते । ददस्व वा शक्रपुरी ममैव युध्यस्व वा भारतमुख्य वीर ॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic boundary in political conflict: peace is possible only through restitution of rightful sovereignty; when injustice is entrenched as a ‘desire’ for unchecked rule, there is no ethical ‘means’ to satisfy it, and a kṣatriya must be prepared to defend justice even by war.
Yudhiṣṭhira, speaking through the envoy Sañjaya to Duryodhana, rejects Duryodhana’s ambition for unopposed Kaurava rule and issues a clear ultimatum: return Indraprastha to the Pāṇḍavas, or face battle.