Shloka 3

Devanagari script

श्रीभगवानुवाच कुरूणां पाण्डवानां च शम: स्यादिति भारत । अप्रणाशेन वीराणामेतद्‌ याचितुमागत:,श्रीभगवान्‌ बोले--भरतनन्दन! मैं आपसे यह प्रार्थना करनेके लिये यहाँ आया हूँ कि क्षत्रियवीरोंका संहार हुए बिना ही कौरवों और पाण्डवोंमें शान्तिस्थापन हो जाय

Transliteration

śrībhagavān uvāca: kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca śamaḥ syād iti bhārata | apraṇāśena vīrāṇām etad yācitum āgataḥ ||

Translation

世尊说道：“噢，婆罗多后裔！我来此所求唯此：愿俱卢与般度族之间得以和解，且不以这些英雄的覆灭为代价。”

Word by Word

श्रीभगवान्the Blessed Lord

उवाचsaid

कुरूणाम्of the Kurus (Kauravas)

पाण्डवानाम्of the Pandavas

चand

शमःpeace, reconciliation

स्यात्may be / should be

इतिthus

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

अप्रणाशेनwithout destruction (by non-destruction)

वीराणाम्of the heroes/warriors

एतत्this

याचितुम्to request, to ask

आगतःhaving come

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Bhagavān (Kṛṣṇa)

Bhārata (addressee)

Kurus (Kauravas)

Pāṇḍavas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharma through restraint: even among kṣatriyas, the highest aim is to secure peace and justice without needless slaughter. It frames war as a last resort and elevates reconciliation as ethically preferable when it can be achieved without compromising righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛṣṇa presents himself as an envoy seeking to avert the impending Kurukṣetra war. He states his purpose plainly: to petition for a settlement between the Kauravas (Kurus) and the Pāṇḍavas so that the heroes on both sides are not destroyed.