Shloka 56
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
क्षत्रधर्म भृशं क्रूरं निरपेक्षं सुनिर्धणम् । अन्यथा तु कथं हन्युरभिमन्युं तथा गतम्
kṣatradharma bhṛśaṃ krūraṃ nirapekṣaṃ sunirdhanam | anyathā tu kathaṃ hanyur abhimanyuṃ tathā gatam ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Ang batas ng kṣatriya ay lubhang malupit—walang awa, walang pakialam sa pagsusumamo, at ganap na salat sa habag. Kung hindi, paano nila napatay si Abhimanyu nang siya’y nasa gayong kalagayan?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension within kṣatriya-dharma: warfare may be sanctioned as duty, yet its practice can become so ruthless that it appears devoid of compassion and fairness. Yudhiṣṭhira’s lament questions whether ‘dharma’ in war can remain ethical when it permits the killing of a vulnerable opponent.
Yudhiṣṭhira, grieving and morally shaken, reflects on Abhimanyu’s death. He argues that only an extremely harsh warrior code could allow Abhimanyu to be slain ‘in such a condition,’ implying he was disadvantaged and treated without mercy.