Shloka 38
Duryodhana-vadha-pratikriyā: Harṣa, Nindā, and Kṛṣṇa’s Nīti-vyākhyā (Śalya-parva 60)
तस्माद्धत्वाकृतप्रज्ञं लुब्धं कामवशानुगम् । लभतां पाण्डव: काम॑ धर्मेडधर्मे च वा कृते
tasmād dhatvākṛtaprajñaṃ lubdhaṃ kāmavaśānugam | labhatāṃ pāṇḍavaḥ kāmaṃ dharme 'dharme ca vā kṛte ||
「因此我想：既已杀死杜罗约陀那——其判断颠倒、贪婪成性、随欲望之势而行——就让般度之子（毗摩）达成所愿吧；无论此举被称为合乎达摩，抑或甚至被视为违背达摩。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a crisis of dharma in wartime: when confronting an opponent driven by greed and desire, the speaker frames victory and the fulfillment of a vow as paramount—even if the means risk slipping from dharma into adharma—thereby highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between righteous ends and morally compromised methods.
In the climactic phase of the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about bringing down Duryodhana, characterizing him as deluded and desire-driven, and urges that Bhīma should achieve his intended objective by killing him, regardless of whether the act is judged as dharmic or adharmic.