महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-12, chapter-96, verse-9

स चेन्निकृत्या युध्येत निकृत्या तं प्रयोधयेत् ।
अथ चेद्धर्मतो युध्येद्धर्मेणैव निवारयेत् ॥९॥

9. sa cennikṛtyā yudhyeta nikṛtyā taṁ prayodhayet ,
atha ceddharmato yudhyeddharmeṇaiva nivārayet.

9. saḥ cet nikṛtyā yudhyeta nikṛtyā tam prayodhayet |
atha cet dharmataḥ yudhyet dharmāṇa eva nivārayet

9. saḥ cet nikṛtyā yudhyeta nikṛtyā tam prayodhayet
atha cet dharmataḥ yudhyet dharmāṇa eva nivārayet

9. If he fights with deceit, one should counter-fight him with deceit. But if he fights according to what is right (dharma), one should stop him only by means of what is right (dharma).

Words meanings summery:

• सः (saḥ) - he, that (person)

• चेत् (cet) - if, supposing that

• निकृत्या (nikṛtyā) - by deceit, by fraud, by trickery

• युध्येत (yudhyeta) - he should fight, one should fight

• निकृत्या (nikṛtyā) - by deceit, by fraud, by trickery

• तम् (tam) - him, that (person)

• प्रयोधयेत् (prayodhayet) - one should make him fight, one should fight him back

• अथ (atha) - then, now, moreover

• चेत् (cet) - if, supposing that

• धर्मतः (dharmataḥ) - righteously, according to dharma, properly

• युध्येत् (yudhyet) - he should fight, one should fight

• धर्माण (dharmāṇa) - by natural law (dharma), by righteousness

• एव (eva) - only, just, indeed

• निवारयेत् (nivārayet) - he should stop, one should prevent/restrain

Words meanings and morphology

सः (saḥ) - he, that (person)

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of tad

tad - that, he, she, it

चेत् (cet) - if, supposing that

(indeclinable)

निकृत्या (nikṛtyā) - by deceit, by fraud, by trickery

(noun)

Instrumental, feminine, singular of nikṛti

nikṛti - deceit, fraud, trickery, injury

Derived from ni-kṛ (√kṛ 'to do') with prefix ni-

Prefix: ni

Root: kṛ (class 8)

युध्येत (yudhyeta) - he should fight, one should fight

(verb)

3rd person , singular, middle, optative (vidhi-liṅ) of yudh

Optative Mood, Third Person Singular

Root: yudh (class 4)

निकृत्या (nikṛtyā) - by deceit, by fraud, by trickery

(noun)

Instrumental, feminine, singular of nikṛti

nikṛti - deceit, fraud, trickery, injury

Derived from ni-kṛ (√kṛ 'to do') with prefix ni-

Prefix: ni

Root: kṛ (class 8)

तम् (tam) - him, that (person)

(pronoun)

Accusative, masculine, singular of tad

tad - that, he, she, it

प्रयोधयेत् (prayodhayet) - one should make him fight, one should fight him back

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, optative (vidhi-liṅ) of yudh

Causative Optative Mood, Third Person Singular

Causative form of √yudh 'to fight' with prefix pra-

Prefix: pra

Root: yudh (class 4)

अथ (atha) - then, now, moreover

(indeclinable)

चेत् (cet) - if, supposing that

(indeclinable)

धर्मतः (dharmataḥ) - righteously, according to dharma, properly

(indeclinable)

Derived from 'dharma' with the suffix '-tas'

युध्येत् (yudhyet) - he should fight, one should fight

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, optative (vidhi-liṅ) of yudh

Optative Mood, Third Person Singular

Root: yudh (class 4)

धर्माण (dharmāṇa) - by natural law (dharma), by righteousness

(noun)

Instrumental, masculine, singular of dharma

dharma - natural law, constitution, duty, righteousness, virtue, custom

Derived from √dhṛ 'to uphold, to sustain'

Root: dhṛ (class 1)

एव (eva) - only, just, indeed

(indeclinable)

निवारयेत् (nivārayet) - he should stop, one should prevent/restrain

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, optative (vidhi-liṅ) of vṛ

Causative Optative Mood, Third Person Singular

Causative form of √vṛ 'to cover, restrain' with prefix ni-

Prefix: ni

Root: vṛ (class 5)