Shloka 14
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
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
ātmayajñena nṛpate iṣṭvā vaivasvataṃ raṇe | vijitya ca sameṣyāvo hatāmitrau śriyā vṛtī ||
Wika ni Duryodhana: “O hari, sa larangan ng digmaan ay sasambahin namin si Vaivasvata (Yama) sa pamamagitan ng handog na kami mismo—na wari’y kami ang alay. Pagkatapos patayin ang mga kaaway at magwagi, babalik kaming magkasama, nababalutan ng ningning ng kapalarang panghari.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.