Shloka 67

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization

Devanagari script

या तु त्यागेन शान्ति: स्थात्‌ तदृते वध एव सः । संशयाच्च समुच्छेदाद्‌ द्विषतामात्मनस्तथा,राज्यको त्याग देनेसे उसके बिना जो शान्ति मिलती है, वह भी वधके ही समान है। क्योंकि उस दशामें शत्रुओंसे सदा यह संदेह बना रहता है कि ये अवसर देखकर प्रहार करेंगे और धन-सम्पत्तिसे वंचित होनेके कारण अपने विनाशकी सम्भावना भी रहती ही है

Transliteration

yā tu tyāgena śāntiḥ syāt tadṛte vadha eva saḥ | saṁśayāc ca samucchedād dviṣatām ātmanaḥ tathā ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Ang kapayapaang nakukuha sa pagtalikod sa kaharian—kapag wala nang ibang paraan—ay hindi rin hihigit sa kamatayan. Sapagkat sa gayong kalagayan, laging may pag-aalinlangan tungkol sa mga kaaway: ‘Sasalakay sila kapag may nakita silang siwang.’ At dahil napagkakaitan ng yaman at mga sandigan, naroon din ang panganib ng sariling pagkapahamak.”

Word by Word

• {'yā': 'which (feminine relative pronoun)', 'tu': 'but, indeed', 'tyāgena': 'by renunciation, through giving up (instrumental of tyāga)', 'śāntiḥ': 'peace, security, cessation of conflict', 'syāt': 'would be, might arise (optative of √as)', 'tadṛte': 'without that, apart from that (i.e., without the alternative/means)', 'vadhaḥ': 'slaying, death, destruction', 'eva': 'indeed, just, only', 'saḥ': 'that (peace) / it', 'saṁśayāt': 'from doubt, due to suspicion', 'ca': 'and', 'samucchedāt': 'from cutting off, annihilation, total destruction', 'dviṣatām': 'of enemies, of the hostile (genitive plural of dviṣat)', 'ātmanaḥ': 'of oneself, one’s own (genitive of ātman)', 'tathā': 'and likewise, in the same way'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• enemies (dviṣat)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Peace gained merely by abandoning one’s rightful position can be illusory: without the means to secure oneself and one’s dependents, renunciation may invite danger, continual fear of attack, and eventual ruin—thus resembling ‘death’ rather than true peace.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the consequences of giving up the kingdom to avoid conflict, arguing that such a surrender would not end hostility but would leave them vulnerable to enemies and deprived of the resources needed for survival and protection.