Shloka 20

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 3 — Sātyaki on Inner Disposition, Legitimacy, and Coercive Readiness

Devanagari script

नाधर्मो विद्यते कश्चिच्छबत्रूनू हत्वा5डततायिन:

Transliteration

nādharmo vidyate kaścit śatrūn hatvā ’tatāyinaḥ

Translation

آتشِ ستم بن کر پہلے حملہ کرنے والے ‘آتتائی’ دشمن کو قتل کرنے میں کوئی اَدھرم نہیں—کیونکہ یہ دھرم کی حفاظت کے لیے دفاع ہے۔

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• adharmaḥ: unrighteousness, sin
• adharmaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: adharma
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• vidyate: is found, exists
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (vindati) / vidyate (ātmanepada usage)
• Form: present, third, singular, ātmanepada

• kaścit: any (one), whatsoever
• kaścit: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kaścid
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• śatrūn: enemies
• śatrūn: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: śatru
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• hatvā: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han
• Form: ktvā (absolutive/gerund)

• ātatāyinaḥ: assailants, felons (aggressors)
• ātatāyinaḥ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātatāyin
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• śatravaḥ (enemies)
• ātatāyin (aggressor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that killing an ātatāyin—an immediate, violent aggressor—is not adharma. Ethical responsibility is tied to protecting life and social order when faced with unlawful, initiating violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s lead-up to war, the narration frames the moral logic of conflict: when opponents act as ātatāyins (aggressors), resistance—even lethal—is presented as dharmically permissible rather than sinful.