Shloka 14

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise

Devanagari script

आत्मयज्ञेन नृपते इष्ट्वा वैवस्व॒तं रणे । विजित्य च समेष्यावो हतामित्रौ श्रिया वृती,नरेश्वरर हम दोनों समरांगणमें अपने इस यज्ञके द्वारा यमराजका यजन करके शत्रुओंको मारकर विजयी हो विजयलक्ष्मीसे शोभा पाते हुए पुनः राजधानीमें लौटेंगे

Transliteration

ātmayajñena nṛpate iṣṭvā vaivasvataṃ raṇe | vijitya ca sameṣyāvo hatāmitrau śriyā vṛtī ||

Translation

దుర్యోధనుడు అన్నాడు—ఓ రాజా! యుద్ధభూమిలో ఆత్మయజ్ఞం ద్వారా మేము వైవస్వతుడైన యముని ఆరాధిస్తాము; శత్రువులను సంహరించి విజయం సాధించి, శ్రీలక్ష్మీ వైభవంతో అలంకృతులమై మేమిద్దరం కలిసి తిరిగి వస్తాము.

Word by Word

आत्मयज्ञेनby (our) self-sacrifice / by this personal yajña

नृपतेO king

इष्ट्वाhaving worshipped / having sacrificed to

वैवस्वतम्Vaivasvata (Yama)

रणेin battle

विजित्यhaving conquered

चand

समेष्यावःwe two will come together / will return

हतामित्रौwe two, whose enemies are slain

श्रियाwith prosperity / with royal fortune

वृतीadorned / endowed

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

Vaivasvata (Yama)

King (addressed as nṛpati)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames warfare as a sacrificial act—an ethical self-justification common in kṣatriya rhetoric—where risking one’s life is likened to offering oblations to Yama; it highlights how ambition and the pursuit of Śrī (royal fortune) can be presented as ‘dharma’ even when the moral ground is disputed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana addresses a king (likely a close ally/elder) with confident resolve: he claims that in the coming battle they will ‘worship’ Yama through their war-effort, kill their enemies, win, and then return to the capital crowned with victory and prosperity.