Shloka 12
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
अहं च तात कर्णश्न रणयज्ञं वितत्य वै | युधिष्ठिरं पशुं कृत्वा दीक्षितौ भरतर्षभ,तात! भरतश्रेष्ठ! मैंने तथा कर्णने रणयज्ञका विस्तार करके युधिष्ठिरको बलिपशु बनाकर उस यज्ञकी दीक्षा ले ली है
ahaṃ ca tāta karṇaś ca raṇayajñaṃ vitatya vai | yudhiṣṭhiraṃ paśuṃ kṛtvā dīkṣitau bharatarṣabha ||
Duryodhana nói: “Thưa phụ vương kính yêu, con và Karṇa quả đã bày mở lễ tế của chiến trận. Lấy Yudhiṣṭhira làm vật hiến tế đã định, chúng con đã thọ lời thệ nguyện nhập lễ cho nghi thức ấy—hỡi bậc tráng sĩ của dòng Bharata.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how adharma can disguise itself in the language of dharma: Duryodhana frames impending violence as a ‘yajña’ (sacrifice), treating a righteous king as a ‘paśu’ (victim). The ethical warning is that ritual metaphors and grand vows cannot sanctify injustice or aggression.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war tensions, Duryodhana speaks to an elder (addressed as ‘tāta’), boasting that he and Karṇa have already ‘initiated’ themselves for a war conceived as a sacrificial rite, with Yudhiṣṭhira imagined as the intended victim—signaling resolve and hostility as the conflict approaches.