Shloka 10
Nakula’s Adaptive Counsel to Kṛṣṇa in the Kuru Assembly (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ७८)
न तु मन्ये स तद् वाच्यो यद् युधिष्ठिशासनम् । उक्त प्रयोजन यत् तु धर्मराजेन भारत,भरतनन्दन! धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरने केवल पाँच गाँवोंको माँगनेके लिये जो आज्ञा दी है तथा नम्रतापूर्ण वचनोंमें जो संधिका प्रयोजन बताया है, वह सब दुर्योधनसे कहना उचित नहीं है--ऐसा मैं मानता हूँ; क्योंकि वह कुरुकुलकलंक पापात्मा उन सब बातों--को कभी स्वीकार नहीं करेगा। हमलोगोंका प्रस्ताव स्वीकार न करनेपर वह इस जगत्में अवश्य ही वधके योग्य हो जायगा
arjuna uvāca | na tu manye sa tad vācyaḥ yad yudhiṣṭhiśāsanam | ukta-prayojanaṃ yat tu dharmarājena bhārata ||
न तु मन्ये स तद्वाच्यो यद् युधिष्ठिरशासनम्। उक्तप्रयोजनं यत्तु धर्मराजेन भारत॥ स कुरुकुलकलङ्कोऽसौ पापात्मा नाभ्यनन्दति। अस्माकं वचनं त्यक्त्वा वध्य एव भवेद् ध्रुवम्॥
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna frames a moral boundary for diplomacy: peace terms grounded in dharma should be offered where there is genuine possibility of acceptance; when a leader is incorrigibly unjust and rejects fair settlement, responsibility shifts toward enforcing justice, even through war, making such a person ‘worthy of being slain’ in the ethical logic of kṣatriya duty.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Arjuna comments on Yudhiṣṭhira’s instruction and the stated aim of reconciliation (classically, the request for only five villages). He argues that conveying these humble terms to Duryodhana is futile because Duryodhana will not accept them; refusal would confirm him as deserving punishment, setting the stage for inevitable conflict.